After reclaiming the top spot on Billboard’s Boxscore Top Tours chart in April for the first time in four years with more than US$75 million in earnings, BTS reached even greater heights in May.
According to Billboard Boxscore, the group generated US$127.8 million in revenue and sold approximately 641,000 tickets across 12 concerts held between May 2 and May 28, making them both the highest-grossing and best-selling touring act of the month.
The achievement also set a new record, with BTS posting the largest monthly tour gross ever recorded by a group since the Boxscore Top Tours chart was introduced in 2019. Their May earnings surpassed The Rolling Stones’ previous record of US$95 million, set in August 2019, by roughly 35%.
This marks BTS’ fourth appearance at No. 1 on the monthly Top Tours chart, having previously led in May 2019, April 2022, and April 2026. Since the chart’s launch, only a handful of artists have spent more months at the summit, including Bad Bunny, Beyoncé, Coldplay, Elton John, and Trans-Siberian Orchestra.
Among BTS’ four chart-topping months, May stands as the group’s most successful performance to date. Their US$127.8 million gross ranks as the fifth-highest monthly touring revenue in Billboard Boxscore history, trailing only three record-setting months by Beyoncé and one by Kendrick Lamar and SZA.
BTS’ Arirang World Tour continued its record-breaking momentum in May, building on its already successful launch in April. Compared to the previous month, the group’s tour revenue climbed by 68%, while concert attendance increased by 54%.
Unlike April, which included performances in Tampa, Japan, and South Korea, the May schedule was focused entirely on North America, featuring nine concerts across the United States and three shows in Mexico.
Higher ticket prices in the U.S., combined with performances in larger stadiums, significantly boosted the tour’s earnings. Although South Korea is the group’s home market, BTS attracted larger crowds per city during the U.S. leg of the tour.
The standout stop was Las Vegas, where BTS performed four sold-out concerts at Allegiant Stadium between May 23–24 and May 27–28. Those shows alone drew approximately 246,000 fans and generated US$49.5 million in ticket sales, making them the highest-grossing concerts on Billboard’s Top Boxscores chart.
This is not the first time BTS has dominated Billboard’s monthly touring rankings through their Las Vegas performances. In April 2022, the group earned around US$35 million and sold 200,000 tickets across four concerts at the same venue, propelling them to No. 1 on both the Top Boxscores and Top Tours charts.
Four years later, BTS returned to the same stadium and delivered even stronger results, increasing revenue by 38% and attendance by 23% while performing the same number of shows.
Three shows at Stanford Stadium (Stanford, Calif.), three at Estadio GNP Seguros (Mexico City), and two at Sun Bowl (El Paso, Texas) padded BTS’ May routing. They follow on Top Boxscores at Nos. 2, 3, and 4, respectively.
Since Arirang World Tour’s April 9 kickoff, the trek has grossed $204 million and sold 1.1 million tickets. With more than 50 shows left to play in 2026, it will soon be the group’s biggest tour yet, within striking distance of the Love Yourself World Tour’s $213.9 million (2018-19).
BTS’ May shows sends the group’s career Boxscore earnings passed the half-billion mark, up to $503.1 million from 3.3 million tickets sold from 87 reported shows.
When BTS first led the Top Tours chart, exactly seven years ago, Metallica was in the runner-up position for the last leg of the WorldWired Tour. Now three years deep into the M72 World Tour, the metal legends return to No. 2, again seated behind the K-pop superstars.
Metallica grossed $72.6 million from 506,000 tickets sold in May. The band’s seven shows were across Europe, including bookending Olympic Stadiums in Athens (May 9) and Berlin (May 30), sandwiching shows in Bucharest, Chorzow, Frankfurt, and Zurich. The May 19 performance in Chorzow, Poland was the biggest one-night engagement, driving 90,500 tickets and $14.4 million, while the double-header at Frankfurt’s Deutsche Bank Park (May 22 and 24) ultimately was the biggest stop, at 125,000 tickets and $15.5 million.
Dating back to the M72 World Tour’s launch in April 2023, the global trek has brought in $564.5 million and sold over 4.7 million tickets. By the end of the entire run, scheduled through July 5 at London’s Wembley Stadium, it will likely be among the 10 highest-grossing tours in Boxscore history.
With three entries within the top 10 of Top Boxscores, Bad Bunny follows with the third highest grossing tour of May. After dominating its first few monthly reports with shows in Latin America, he resumed the Debí Tirar Más Fotos World Tour in Europe on May 22. Before the end of the month, he played two shows in Barcelona, two in Lisbon, and another pair in Madrid.
Each of the three double-headers earned upwards of $15 million and sold more than 100,000 tickets, though that is where the level comparison ends. Bad Bunny’s run in Madrid extended into June with eight additional dates, ultimately grossing $96.1 million from 623,000 tickets between May 30-June 15. The stint’s remaining shows will be represented on the forthcoming June report.
Current through the end of the Madrid dates, the Debí Tirar Más Fotos World Tour has grossed $360 million and sold 2.4 million tickets, becoming the highest-grossing and best-selling tour in history that did not play any shows in the United States. Further, Bad Bunny’s career Boxscore grosses have hit $1.1 billion, making him the first Latin artist in the billion-dollar club.
Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band is next at No. 4 with $50.8 million in 10 shows. That’s half of the Land of Hope and Dreams American Tour’s overall haul of 20 dates. Between its Minneapolis kickoff on March 31 and Philadelphia closing on May 30, the entire tour grossed $92.1 million and sold 355,000 tickets.
From Metallica, Bad Bunny, and Springsteen – acts who have been constant presences on the monthly Top Tours chart over the last several years – to a monthly Boxscore debut: No Doubt rounds out the top five with 12 shows at Las Vegas’ Sphere. They mark the band’s first concerts in 14 years, dating to a 2012 residency at Los Angeles’ Gibson Amphitheatre. The shows grossed $41.9 million and sold 192,000 tickets.
