BTS’s Arirang tour tops $500 million, the first pop group to hit the mark
Billboard Boxscore shows the world tour has crossed half a billion dollars since April, with about 40 shows still ahead and a possible path toward $1 billion.
The milestone: BTS has become the first pop group worldwide to surpass $500 million in revenue from a single tour, according to Billboard’s latest Boxscore tallies reported Sept. 30 and covered widely on Thursday. The “BTS WORLD TOUR ‘ARIRANG,’” which opened April 9 in Goyang, South Korea, has now crossed that threshold, Billboard and Chosun Biz reported. Fewer than 20 tours in Boxscore history have reached $500 million, and BTS is the seventh group to do so — the first that is not a rock band, Billboard said.
August dominance: BTS returned to No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Tours ranking with $171.7 million and about 801,000 tickets sold over 12 August shows — the second-biggest one-month gross in Boxscore history, behind only Beyoncé’s $179.3 million in August 2023, Billboard reported. That marks BTS’s fifth month atop Top Tours, trailing only Bad Bunny (10) and Beyoncé, Coldplay and Elton John (seven each).
All 12 North American stadium dates in August sold out across six cities; all six stops made the Top Boxscores chart. The biggest was MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., where two nights grossed $32.7 million and drew 158,000 fans, Billboard said. Other stops included AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas; Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass.; M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore; Soldier Field in Chicago; and Rogers Centre in Toronto, each earning between $24 million and $30 million.
What’s next: The tour continues in October with 14 shows in South America before returning to Asia from Nov. 21 through March 16, 2027. With about 40 dates left, Billboard said the half-billion gross could grow much closer to $1 billion. The Weeknd ranked No. 2 for August with $146.7 million and a Boxscore-record 995,000 tickets sold in European stadiums, Billboard reported.
What this means: A K-pop act has now joined a short list of mega-tours once dominated by rock brands, and the remaining legs leave open a rare chance at a billion-dollar Boxscore run.