Irish rock band U2 is closing out its historic residency at The Sphere this upcoming weekend. The group were the first to perform in Las Vegas’ brand-new state-of-the-art concert hall, and they have generated an impressive amount of revenue from their much-lauded shows.
Although The Sphere has not released actual figures for the full residency, early this year it confirmed that the shows are grossing around $1.8m with around 16,500 tickets sold on average per show. Taking all 40 U2 performances into consideration, this means that the residency will likely generate around $72m in revenue come Saturday night.
the highest-grossing Las Vegas residency of all time in terms of revenue per show
This would make the U2 shows the highest-grossing Las Vegas residency of all time in terms of revenue per show. To put it into perspective, Celine Dion surpassed that total when she grossed $385.1m with her A New Day run between 2003 and 2007, but she played 674 more shows than U2. Next up behind that is Elton John, who grossed $131.2m with 189 shows for The Million Dollar Piano.
The average ticket price across the U2 residency was around $400, which is $100 higher than the cost to see Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars in their recent theatre runs in the region. Gaga grossed $1.5m per show during her Enigma & Jazz Piano shows, while Mars made $1.3m for his Bruno Mars at Park MGM.
Those lucky enough to get a ticket for U2 had a feast for the eyes. At the time of the first U2 show in October 2023, VegasSlotsOnline News reported on the most mind-bending moments from the performance. This included images of Las Vegas adorning the walls, making onlookers feel like the entire wraparound screen was moving.
The Sphere has confirmed that Dead & Company, the Grateful Dead successors, will take over once U2 leave the venue. The group will perform at least 15 shows, according to Rolling Stone.