Madonna’s ‘Rebel Heart Tour’ Is Killing It At The Box Office — And The Haters Are Upset

Madonna just finished the first leg of her Rebel Heart Tour in the United States and, as expected, she has proven to be the Queen of the Box Office. Billboard has the news.

“Madonna heads up Billboard‘s weekly ranking of concert touring artists, landing at No. 1 on the Hot Tours recap based on $25.4 million in sales reported from her Rebel Heart world tour. This tally includes the final 12 stops on the first leg of the tour that played 20 cities in North America during September and October.”

They note that with the other dates on the tour that began on Sept. 9 in Montreal, Madonna has made a total of $46 million. It’s quite an accomplishment for a woman nearing 60-years-old — especially one who has been written off by ageist critics as “too old to sing” or “too old to perform.” However, some critics just want Madonna to fail, as evidenced by a recent hit-piece by the New York Post, which calls the tour a failure because it hasn’t earned as much as her previous tour.

“At many of the stops along the 14-concert part of the tour, ticket revenue fell 50 percent below that of 2012’s ‘MDNA’ tour, according to Billboard’s Boxscore data.”

The New York Post uses data to infer that Madonna’s shows in Toronto (she sold out two of them) and others were failures. What they didn’t point out is that all of the reported shows were completely sold out. So why is Madonna making less money? For one, the tickets are cheaper this time around. While Madonna still charges above $350 for some seats, many others sell at prices below $150. When an artist plays the same area every two years, they have oversaturated the market. Madonna knows this and knew that she had to reduce prices if she wanted to fill seats. It’s not an example of failure, it’s an example of reality.

One can spin statistics to fill an agenda, but one cannot deny facts. Fact: The Rebel Heart Tour holds 12 of the top 17 concert grosses this week. Fact: Madonna performed three completely sold-out shows in New York City, despite the suggestion that her shows there were failing to move tickets. Most important fact: The Rebel Heart Tour has played to almost 350,000 people in 24 sold-out shows. Anybody who wants to argue that this is failing certainly has an agenda.

Besides selling out 24 shows and playing to almost 350,000 people, Madonna’s latest tour — unlike her previous MDNA Tour — has received almost unanimously excellent reviews. The Los Angeles Times said that Madonna successfully proved why she is still relevant after all of these years.

“So, as much as she was celebrating her own importance, Madonna seemed to be looking for ways to demonstrate that she still mattered. What was remarkable was that she succeeded by taking advantage of her experience, not by running from it.”

The Las Vegas Sun was just as impressed with Madonna’s show.

“Final four words about Madonna’s ‘Rebel Heart Tour’ stop Saturday night: Concert of the year. It is indeed very good for Madonna to be Queen of Pop,” said reviewer Don Chareunsy.

Mr. Chareunsy was only upset that Madonna didn’t perform any songs from her most acclaimed album Ray of Light, but that her concert is something he will always remember. Fantastic reviews also appear in Us Weekly, VH1, The Guardian, Billboard, and Rolling Stone. Despite the loud voices of people who seem to feel fulfilled by seeing Madonna fail, the Queen of Pop remains at the top of her game.

[Feature photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images]