Bon Jovi named highest grossing tour of 2013

[That 70s Guy]

ultimateclassicrock.com



All the drama surrounding the absence of Richie Sambora had little effect on Bon Jovi at the box office. Their Because We Can world tour was named the top tour of 2013.

According to Billboard, the rock veterans played 90 shows — all sellouts — to 2,178,170 people. The total gross was $205,158,370, nearly $50 million more than second place, Cirque du Soleil’s ‘Michael Jackson The Immortal World Tour,’ which played to more than 1.4 million people spread out over 205 performances.

Back in April, it was announced that Sambora was leaving the tour due to “personal issues.” Throughout the year, rumors spread about the split — with reasons ranging from financial disputes to Sambora drinking again. In November, after Sambora and Jon Bon Jovi spent months trading barbs in the press, the guitarist said that being on the road kept him away from his 16-year-old daughter. “I think people don’t understand exactly what that means,” he explained. “You don’t get to come home. There’s a huge sacrifice in that. I missed a lot of my daughter’s life.”

The other classic rockers in the Top 25 highest-grossing acts of 2013 are Bruce Springsteen (No. 4), the Rolling Stones (No. 6, even though they played only 23 shows), Roger Waters (No. 11), Paul McCartney (No. 16), Fleetwood Mac (No. 17) and Iron Maiden (No. 25).

Billboard’s Top 10 Tours of 2013
1. Bon Jovi ($205 million gross)
2. ‘Michael Jackson The Immortal World Tour’ ($157 million)
3. Pink ($147.9 million)
4. Bruce Springsteen ($147.6 million)
5. Rihanna ($137.9 million)
6. The Rolling Stones ($126 million)
7. Taylor Swift ($115 million)
8. Beyonce ($104 million)
9. Depeche Mode ($99 million)
10. Kenny Chesney ($90 million)

 

[LG]

^^I can handle 3 of the top ten on the list, the others' don't do anything for me.

I'm sure Jon Bon Jovi is basking in the glow of his success without Sambora along for the ride.

 

[TheSound]

Interesting, though the expression ‘highest grossing’ can be extremely misleading. Many tickets for that Stones tour were just astronomically over-priced, way beyond the pockets of most ordinary people, which is how they only played 23 shows, to 300,000 people, in 3 countries, but they still grossed almost as much money as the Springsteen ‘Wrecking Ball’ tour, which played 140 shows, to almost 4 million people, in 26 countries. If you were counting actual ‘bums on seats’ I doubt the Stones tour would even make the top 100 list if it was done by attendance numbers. And one curiosity, why is Cirque du Soleil on the list?.. because as mesmerising and brilliant as Cirque are, they are basically a theatrical circus act, and so I don’t see how one of their theatre productions compares with a rock tour, just because it’s based on the music of Michael Jackson, to me it’s no more of a rock/pop tour than ‘Mama Mia – the Musical’ or ‘We Will Rock You’ which are based on the music of Abba and Queen, and which both tour the world endlessly, so I dunno, maybe they count Broadway type shows nowadays alongside rock tours? And I didn't even realise Pink was so big, unless she charges Stones type prices for seats?... though Pink is somebody I doubt I could name one of her songs, in fact I know I can't, so what do I know!!