Midway through the tent construction for Cirque du Soleil Totem at Santa Monica (Calif.) Pier. (Photo by Matt Beard)
Cirque du Soleil claimed three of the four number one spots in this week's Hot Tickets, showing that the Canadian circus can create success at any size venue. Totem wrapped up its stay at the Big Top Tent at Santa Monica Pier. The show grossed well over $12 million due to its long stay on the site, with 63 shows. Totem heads to Portland (Ore.) Expo Center, March 27, before setting up its tent at Concord Pacific Place in British Columbia, May 15. The artists will take a break for July, then pick up again with performances at Alexandra Park in Auckland, New Zealand, starting Aug. 22. Cirque du Soleil Quidam played seven shows in five days at Zenith de Toulouse, France. The show begins at Zenith Omega in Toulon, France, March 19. The final top stop for Cirque du Soleil featured Dralion at Luzhniki Grand Sports Arena in Moscow, March 6-16. The 15 shows grossed nearly $6 million. Dralion will next open at Minsk (Belarus) Arena, March 20.
Brisbane (Australia) Entertainment Centre filled four of the five spots in its capacity category with unique events, including country and hard rock. Two shows by Lionel Richie and John Farnham, March 10-11, were a big draw, bringing in more than $2 million and nearly 16,000 attendees. Bruno Mars stopped at the venue March 13, grossing more than $1.3 million. Next, Mars goes home to Hawaii for three shows at Neal S Blaisdell Arena in Honolulu, April 18-19, 21. Toby Keith also grossed more than $1 million in Brisbane with his March 14 performance. He has two more dates in Australia, with a March 18 stop at Allphones Arena in Sydney and a show at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne the next night. Lastly, Queens of the Stone Age played a show with Nine Inch Nails in Brisbane on March 17, which brought more than 8,000 people to the venue. The high grosses on all of the venue's shows could be partially attributed to a strong starting ticket price. All of the shows at Brisbane Entertainment Centre that made the Hot Tickets chart had starting prices ranging from about $90-$105.
HOT TICKETS is a weekly summary of the top acts and ticket sales as reported to VT PULSE. Following are the top 20 concerts and events, the top 5 in each seating capacity category, which took place between Feb. 18-March 18.
15,001 or More Seats | 10,001-15,000 Seats | 5,001-10,000 Seats | 5,000 or Fewer Seats |
1) Cirque du Soleil Dralion 2) UFC 171 3) George Strait, Martina McBride 4) Elton John 5) Antony Santos | 1) Lionel Richie, John Farnham 2) Bruno Mars 3) Toby Keith 4) Cirque du Soleil Quidam 5) Queens of the Stone Age, Nine Inch Nails | 1) Cirque du Soleil Quidam 2) Mardi Gras After Party 3) Cirque du Soleil Varekai 4) Cirque du Soleil Varekai 5) Laura Pausini | 1) Cirque du Soleil Totem 2) Celine Dion 3) Once 4) Beauty and the Beast 5) Blue Man Group |
| The Weekly Hot Tickets chart is compiled by Daniel Gray. To submit reports, e-mail HotTickets@venuestoday.com or fax to (714) 378-0040. | |||