TOURING
RECAP
/ FEBRUARY
L
AST JULY, THE NO. 1 SPOT ON BILLBOARD’S
Top Tours chart came down to a fraction of a per-
cent. P!nk’s $61.5 million gross just narrowly beat
The Rolling Stones’ $61.1 million total, making it the
closest race in the monthly recap’s history — until
now. In February, Post Malone’s Runaway Tour was
the biggest of the month with $27.2 million, a near tie with Céline
Dion’s Courage world tour at No. 2, which also had a total gross of
$27.2 million. The difference amounts to a minuscule $8,948, or a
margin of 0.03%.
Both artists — one a genre-busting superstar of pop and hip-hop,
the other a legendary diva and balladeer — took similar routes to
the peak of the Top Tours chart. Both consistently played North
American arenas throughout February, with Post Malone perform-
ing 15 shows and Dion 13. At two fewer dates, Dion posted the better
per-show average, logging $2.1 million per night, as opposed to Post
Malone’s $1.8 million. Dion also sported a slightly higher average
ticket ($169 vs. $137), leaving Post Malone with the stronger per-night
attendance (13,293 tickets vs. 12,390).
The Runaway Tour’s highlight of the month was a Feb. 21 show at
Philadelphia’s Wells Fargo Center that grossed $2.2 million, falling
just short of the month’s Top Boxscores chart. Dion, on the other
hand, makes four appearances on the tally, bolstered by two double-
headers: a Feb. 28-29 stand at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center ($5.1 mil-
lion, No. 9) and a pair of shows at Montreal’s Bell Centre Feb. 18-19
($3.6 million, No. 16).The two tours began four days
apart, with Post Malone’s kicking
off Sept. 14 at the Tacoma Dome in
Washington and Dion’s on Sept. 18
at Québec City’s Videotron Centre.
It’s the fourth monthly Top Tours
showing for the Runaway Tour
and its second month at No. 1, fol-
lowing an impressive October run
in the fall.
Meanwhile, February marks the
Courage tour’s fifth consecutive
month on the chart and its second
consecutive month in the runner-up
position. Through Feb. 29, Dion’s
world tour has earned $96.4 mil-
lion and sold 596,813 tickets across
48 shows, while Post Malone has
grossed $84.1 million and sold
657,031 tickets from 50 shows.
Both tours were scheduled to play
through 2020 but sit in a holding
pattern due to the coronavirus.
Post Malone and Dion aren’t the
only ones wrestling for the No. 1
position. After topping the tally forthe fourth time in January, Elton
John falls to No. 3 with a 29-day
gross of $26.9 million. That means
his monthly gross trails that of Post
Malone by $356,540 (1.31%).
On his latest leg, John played
stadiums in New Zealand, per-
forming just nine shows for a per-
night average of $3 million and
24,314 tickets. His is the month’s
best-attended tour with a total of
218,830 tickets sold.
The top 30 tours of the month
collectively earned $263.1 million,
representing a 9.2% increase over
the biggest tours of February 2019.
The uptick is a small bright spot at
an uncertain time for the touring
industry, which has been upended
by mass postponements and can-
cellations due to the COVID-19
pandemic. Amid the chaos, the
increase in business is a sign that
the appetite for live entertainment
could be stronger than ever when
the industry eventually resumes.Runaway Success
Post Malone’s arena tour dominates once again — but not without
some close competition from Céline DionBY ERIC FRANKENBERGFrom left: Dion in
Miami on Jan. 17;
Post Malone in
Uniondale, N.Y.,
on Feb. 19.60 BILLBOARD • MARCH 28, 2020DION: LARRY MARANO/SHUTTERSTOCK. MALONE: NINA WESTERVELT/SHUTTERSTOCK. SCHMIT: ETHAN MILLER/GETTY IMAGES.7chart_touring [P]_27829449.indd 60 3/25/20 2:21 PM