In a recent study that reviewed the highest-grossing Las Vegas residencies of the past five years on a per-show basis, the unexpected leader emerged. In spite of all the attention that Adele has been receiving lately, she did not come out on top of the rankings.
PlayStar, an online casino, conducted the analysis and found Lady Gaga to be the most successful artist. Her ‘Enigma + Jazz & Piano’ residency at the Park MGM from 2018 to 2022 earned an estimated $1.5M for each performance. Bruno Mars’ Park MGM residency was the runner-up at $1.3M per show, and JLo’s residency at Planet Hollywood was third with $850k per show. Adele placed fourth, with her ‘Weekends with Adele’ residency at Caesars Palace bringing in an estimated $690K per show.
The list was based on the amount each artist grossed per show across all their residencies in the past five years. Adele’s total would be higher if the analysis was conducted at the end of 2023, when she is scheduled to have completed 34 more concerts for a reported $1.22M per show. This would put her in third place with an overall income of $957K per show.
JLo and Elton John were the hardest workers, playing 120 and 197 shows respectively over two and eight years. Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars had fewer performances, with 52 and 41 shows respectively over five and eight years.
If the ranking was based on total estimated residency gross, Elton John would lead the pack, having grossed $131.1M for his ‘The Million Dollar Piano’ residency at Caesars Palace from 2011 to 2018. JLo’s residency would follow with $101.9M, and Lady Gaga’s at $78M. Adele’s ‘Weekends With Adele’ would only place eighth.
On a per-year basis, JLo would come out on top, with $34M earned over three years. Elton John would follow with $16.2M over eight years, while Lady Gaga would rank third at $15.6M over five years. Adele would come in sixth, with $11.6M, though this figure is likely to increase with her residency running until November 2021.
For the all-time top-grossing Vegas residencies, Celine Dion would be the leader. She earned $385.1M for ‘A New Day,’ which ran at Caesars Palace from 2003 to 2007, and another $296.2M for ‘Celine,’ which ran there from 2011 to 2019, for a total of $681.3M. Elton John’s ‘The Red Piano’ residency would place second with $300.7M, and Britney Spear’s ‘Piece of Me’ residency at Planet Hollywood would rank third with $137M.
PlayStar calculated its box-office figures using multiple sources, including published reports, ticket prices, venue capacity, and the number of shows during the tour.
