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While Las Vegas is commonly known for its bright lights and glitzy casinos, some of the world's most famous musicians have played to sellout crowds week after week in what's known as a Las Vegas Residency.
Concert residencies have been a staple of the Las Vegas Strip since they were pioneered by Frank Sinatra back in the '40s and since the likes of Elvis Presley, Elton John, and Britney Spears have graced the strip with their iconic tracks.
Pop star Adele has been performing at a Vegas residency since 2022, and once all 60 shows have been performed, it's set to become one of the highest-grossing residencies of all time.
But how will it compare to the previous all-time highest-grossing Vegas residencies? The team looked back at the iconic residencies of the past to see which were the highest-grossing and predicted how Adele's would compare.
The primary gross figure has been adjusted for 2024 Inflation
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concert_residency
Denise Truscello // WireImage
1. Celine Dion: A New Day … - $565.73 million (Actual $385 million)
Taking the top spot as the highest-grossing Vegas residency of all time is A New Day … , the iconic residency by singer Celine Dion at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace, the famous celebrity casino hotspot. While the residency was only meant to last for three years since it began in 2003, the show was so successful that it was extended for two years.
Dion played 717 shows from 2003 to 2007, and nearly three million people watched the show over the five years.
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2. Celine Dion: Celine - $352.75 million (Actual $296 million)
Deja vu? That's right, Celine Dion is also in second place for the highest-grossing Vegas residencies. Due to the success of A New Day …, Dion returned to The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in 2011 with her new show titled Celine.
From 2011 to 2019, Celine Dion played 427 shows to a crowd of 200,000 people across the eight-year run.
Anne-Marie Forker / Alamy Stock Photo
3. U2:UV Achtung Baby Live at Sphere - $244.5 million (Actual $244.5 million)
Irish rockers U2 and their residency at the recently created Sphere are in third place. The residency celebrates the 30th anniversary of their acclaimed 1991 album, "Achtung Baby." It incorporates the album's iconic tracks and spectacular visual effects, creating an unforgettable experience combining powerful music and innovative stage production.
From 2023 to 2024, the 40 shows generated $244.5 million at an average of $6.1 million per show. It's still some distance behind Celine Dion's top two entries, but an impressive amount of revenue.
UPI / Alamy Stock Photo
4. Elton John: The Red Piano - $240.01 million (Actual $169 million)
Next on the list is the Rocket Man, Sir Elton John, whose Vegas residency titled The Red Piano, is the third-highest grossing of all time. Originally only meant to be 75 shows over three years at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace, it soon became 247 shows over six years.
The residency, which included John's biggest hits, including "I'm Still Standing" and "Tiny Dancer," ran from 2004 to 2009 and was seen by an audience of hundreds of thousands.
GTCRFOTO / Alamy Stock Photo
5. Britney Spears: Piece Of Me - $170.29 million (Actual $137.7 million)
Britney Spears performed her first Vegas residency with Piece Of Me, a show on such a large scale. Taking place at one of the most spectacular casinos in the world, The Axis in the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino, had to be revamped significantly to accommodate her show.
The residency was extended before Spears had even played her first show due to exceptionally high demand. It lasted from 2013 to the end of 2017, with 146 performances.
MediaPunch Inc / Alamy Stock Photo
6. Elton John: The Million Dollar Piano - $158.95 million (Actual $131 million)
The Rocket Man returned to The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas for a second residency after the resounding success of The Red Piano with his brand new, still piano-themed show, The Million Dollar Piano. The title comes from Elton John's makeshift Yamaha piano, kitted with screens and acrylic panels, used for the concerts.
Across the show's seven years, from 2011 to 2018, John played 197 shows to thousands of concert-goers, and its success even saw a show recorded in 2012 see a home-media release and even cinema showings.
7. Bruno Mars: All I Have Bruno Mars at Park MGM - $114.3 million (Actual $114.3 million)
Although not strictly in Las Vegas, the city of Paradise runs parallel to its Sin City neighbour, and with the amount of revenue that Bruno Mars' residency has generated across its 74 shows to date, we deemed it worthy of inclusion on our list.
The residency labelled All I Have means that superstar Mars has a fair amount of dollars in his bank account. Admittedly, he will not collect all the $114.3 million that the show has currently generated in sales, but he will certainly collect a fair portion at the same time.
With this also being an ongoing residency, the Hawaii-born performer will be eyeing up both Elton John and Britney Spears in terms of soon overtaking both those entries on our list.
GTCRFOTO / Alamy Stock Photo
8. Jennifer Lopez: All I Have - $123.64 million (Actual $101.9 million)
Up next is the most famous Latin pop star in the world, Jennifer Lopez. Her Vegas residency, All I Have, was critically acclaimed, in turn boosting its box office numbers.
From 2016 to 2018, Lopez ran a two-year residency at Zappos in the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino. She performed 121 shows to nearly half a million people, making her first-ever residency a resounding success with average earnings of $850,000 per show.
How much could Adele make from her ongoing Las Vegas residency?
British pop superstar Adele is currently performing a Vegas residency at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace, and early predictions are that she'll make this list of having the all-time highest-grossing residency, drawing fans away from the blackjack and into the concert halls.
Across the 60 nights set for Adele's residency, she's set to make an average of $1.75 million per night, potentially increasing to $2 million per night on her latest leg of shows. At an average of $1.75 million across 60 nights, the total gross of the residency would be $105 million. It's a little bit more than even the most speculative roulette player could achieve!
If the earnings predictions are correct, Adele will be at a level with Jennifer Lopez on this list. But who knows, with the residency's resounding success, the dates could be extended further, potentially putting Adele in the top five of the all-time highest-grossing Vegas residencies, leaving her counting the dollars rather than counting cards.
