Veteran superstars George Strait and Dolly Parton dominate the weekly Hot Tours ranking, lassoing the No. 1 and No. 2 spots, respectively.
Strait leads the list with ticket sales reported from two major U.S. markets during the final leg of his Cowboy Rides Away tour. Sellout crowds in Philadelphia and Newark added $3.3 million to the King of Country’s overall gross that now tops $59.5 million for what he announced to be his farewell tour. The first leg ran from Jan. 2013 through the beginning of June, and was attended by 455,000 fans. With this year’s second leg added, the attendance count has jumped to 660,000 with 13 more shows on tap before the tour wraps on June 7.
Parton lands in second place on this week’s tally based on reported grosses from one of the markets on her nine-city swing through Australia and New Zealand during February. The legendary entertainer is on the road this year in support of her latest album “Blue Smoke,” was released Down Under in January and is set for release in North America and Europe in May. The Brisbane Entertainment Centre hosted the tour on Feb. 21-22 and reported $1.7 million in ticket sales from 13,842 sold seats during the two-show run.
Parton appeared in all of the major Aussie markets during her February jaunt, just as she did in 2011 when she toured behind her “Better Day” album. On that tour, she played three shows at the same Brisbane arena, grossing $3.7 million. Although currently on a brief hiatus, the Blue Smoke tour will resume on May 22 with a trek through five U.S. cities and then head to Europe for a summertime outing beginning on June 8.
Imagine Dragons scores the No. 4 ranking of the week with sales reported from two markets on its Into the Night tour that plays in North American cities through March 15. The two-month trek kicked off on Feb. 8 in Boise, Idaho, and is the final touring effort in support of the band’s debut album “Night Visions,” released in 2012.
With the Naked and Famous and Nico Vega onboard as show openers, the Grammy-winning rock band will cover a total of 21 markets during this headlining jaunt through the U.S. and Canada. Arenas in two of those North American cities reported their box office stats during the past week. The Frank Erwin Center in Austin and Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena both hosted the tour during February, reporting almost 26,000 sold tickets in both markets. The tour’s final U.S. performance will be in Denver on March 15, but the band is booked with one-off concerts and festival appearances in Latin America and Europe through August.
Weekly .com Boxscores – March 5, 2014
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ACT
Total Gross
Show Dates
Show Venue/City (Shows/Sellouts)
Total Attendance (Capacity)
GEORGE STRAIT
$3,310,670
Feb. 28-March 1
Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia (1/1)
Prudential Center, Newark, N.J. (1/1)
35,384 (35,384)
DOLLY PARTON
$1,765,110
Feb. 21-22
Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Brisbane, Australia (2/0)
13,842 (18,060)
LUPITA D’ALESSIO & YURI
$1,179,974
Feb. 21-23
Auditorio Banamex, Monterrey, Mexico (1/0)
Auditorio Nacional, Mexico City (2/0)
23,731 (25,921)
IMAGINE DRAGONS
$956,388
Feb. 20-24
Frank Erwin Center, Austin, Texas (1/0)
Bridgestone Arena, Nashville (1/1)
25,731 (26,035)
LAURA PAUSINI
$706,290
Feb. 19-20
Citibank Hall, São Paulo, Brazil (2/2)
7,864 (7,864)
KANYE WEST
$507,157
Feb. 22
Atlantic City Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, N.J. (1/0)
7,789 (10,018)
ANA CAROLINA
$427,931
Jan. 31-Feb. 8
Citibank Hall, São Paulo, Brazil (2/0)
Citibank Hall, Rio de Janeiro (2/0)
10,222 (12,045)
ENRIQUE BUNBURY
$421,407
Feb. 17
Auditorio Nacional, Mexico City (1/0)
9,305 (9,584)
LUAN SANTANA
$329,976
Feb. 21-22
Citibank Hall, São Paulo, Brazil (2/0)
9,071 (9,226)
BIG TIME RUSH
$274,925
Feb. 16
Estadio Cubierto Malvinas Argentinas, Buenos Aires (1/0)
6,157 (7,500)