Showtime Dollars: Revealing The Earnings Per Minute of Las Vegas’ Biggest Residencies

Ah, Las Vegas- the entertainment capital of the world, and a playground only the most renowned stars could ever dream of calling their stage. Picture this: Celine Dion, Janet Jackson, and the Backstreet Boys leaving their mark on Sin City’s legendary casino venues. Whilst many will never reach this showbiz milestone, it’s a reality for a select few. We’re here to crunch the numbers on just how much some of the biggest Vegas residencies have earned for their shows, broken down by hour and minute. 

So, let’s dive into the world of neon lights and late nights and find out who the true winners are in Las Vegas.

• Bruno Mars is the highest earning residency, cashing in $3.5m per hour and $59k per minute 

• In second place, is Celine Dion, earning $2.8m per hour and $34.7k per minute

• In third place, is Elton John, cashing in $691k per hour and $11.5k per minute

The team took a list of the most successful Las Vegas residencies over the last 5 years and used the gross box office earnings to understand earnings per show.

Claiming the throne as the highest-earning residency is 15-time Grammy Award-winner Bruno Mars. The star's residency at Park MGM has banked an impressive box office figure of $53.2m to date, which is $5.7m per show. It seems his vocal magic seriously manifested that 24K gold as he took home a cool $3.5m per hour for his 95-minute performance. For every minute of ‘’Uptown Funk,’’ ‘’Finesse,’’ and ‘’Just the Way You Are’’ Bruno blesses our eardrums with, he pockets $59k!  

Queen of power ballads, standing ovations, and performing ‘’Your Heart Will Go On’’ to perfection every single time, securing second place is none other than Vegas royalty; Celine Dion. 

Some would say the ‘’Celine’’ residency is not just a musical masterpiece, but a financial one where Dion hits all of the right notes. The residency generated impressive box office earnings of $296.2m, which equates to $3.1m for every single 90-minute show Dion performed. For every hour the star wowed the crowd at The Colosseum, she earned $2.8m, which is an astonishing $34.7k per minute. 

Taking home the bronze position is British icon, Sir Elton John, for his ‘The Million Dollar Piano’ residency, *cough* more like $131.1m piano! John and his trusted piano sidekick, Blossom, charmed the crowd with his repertoire of iconic hits such as; ‘’Tiny Dancer,’’ and ‘’Rocket Man’’ - generating the star a dazzling $1.4m per show. Whilst his own Vegas-paved ‘’Yellow Brick Road’’ might’ve come to an end, for the 2 hours he did spend entertaining the audience of The Colosseum, he raked in $691k per hour and $11.5k per minute. 

An honorable mention goes to none other than JLo - who had one of the shortest residencies on the list but still managed to place fourth for the highest earners. The ‘’All I Have’’ residency at The Zappos Theater lasted 2 years and grossed $101.9m at the box office, trailing just behind Elton John ($131.1m) for a 7 year residency! It’s fair to say ‘’The Love Don’t Cost A Thing’’ singer made some serious bank from her residency, as she was cashing in $537k per hour and $9k for every minute she sang on stage. Not just little old ‘’Jenny from the Block’’ anymore.

On the other side of the chart, surprisingly we have Mariah Carey with her 2-year ‘’The Butterfly Returns’’ residency at The Colosseum. Whilst a massive star, and credit where credits due, Mariah cashed in the lowest amount for her residency, at $36.9k per hour and $615 per minute. Followed by Carrie Underwood’s “Reflection” shows earning $59k per hour and $984 per minute!

It’s no secret that these bucket list Las Vegas residencies are big cash cows for every single star that graces the stages, but when push comes to shove - it’s Grammy award winner Bruno Mars who makes the highest amount per hour and minute. It’s not stopping there, as it seems he’ll be uptown funking all the way into 2024 with his plans to debut one-of-a-kind cocktail lounge, The Pinky Ring in 2024. Go Bruno!

We gathered official data that was readily available on gross box office earnings via Statista for all of the most successful Las Vegas Residencies over the past 5 years. A ranking was then created based on these top earners and the highest earning 15 were included in the campaign. To establish earnings per show, we based this on an average % of show earnings for other Vegas residences that were publicly available (estimated that stars take home 94.87% of the gross box office earnings). We then divided this amount by the length of the show in hours and minutes, to find out how much each star makes per hour and minute for their residency.