Céline Dion's Paris Concerts Made Her a Lot of Money

The long-awaited comeback of Céline Dion was always guaranteed to make oodles of money. When Dion announced plans to perform 16 concerts at the Plentitude Arena in Paris earlier this year, it had been six years since she’d performed on tour (and she’d been unable to complete that run due to COVID.) A diagnosis of Stiff Person Syndrome, which impacts the muscles in her throat, left many worrying that Quebec’s finest may never sing again. So, the prospect of seeing her take to the spotlight once more was pretty damn major for her fans. And she has a lot of fans. She is, after all, one of the biggest selling artists of all time.

For those lucky enough to land tickets—over nine million people entered a lottery for early access to the pre-sale—they helped to make the show a record-breaking success. According to Billboard, those 16 shows grossed $125.5 million from over 539,000 tickets sold. That’s a ridiculous amount of money: an average of $7.8 million per-show. This makes Dion’s Paris residency he fastest-grossing residency at the time. To put that into perspective, she outsold Bruce Springsteen’s 2017/18 Broadway one-man show, which earned over $113 million (not adjusted for inflation) over 236 shows.

This obviously isn’t a surprise given Dion’s popularity, but it’s also a reminder that the entire concept of the modern musician’s residency was largely her doing. When she went to Vegas to do a four-year residency at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace, it was seen as a weird move. Only schlubby washed-up nostalgia acts do Vegas shows. Why is Celine moving to the desert? But her first residency, A New Day…, changed the game. Adjusted for inflation, it grossed over $597.9 million, and it’s still the highest-earning residency ever. The number two spot? Also Celine, from her second time round at the Colosseum.

Since then, everyone from Gaga to Britney, Adele, U2, Garth Brooks, Bruno Mars, Katy Perry, and Elton John has made absolute bank in Sin City from these residencies. You can put on a splashier show in one set location, and “premium pricing” for tickets tends to sting less when it’s part of a holiday to gambler’s central. Outside of Vegas, more and more artists are eager to do longer stays in one venue over jumping from place to place, day after day. Touring sucks, and it’s not the money maker it once was unless you’re a Taylor, Beyonce, Coldplay, or Harry. Minimizing costs is just necessary now, so why not call it a residency and pretend it’s fancy?

For those who are sad they missed Celine in Paris, never fear. She’s doing 10 more shows at the Plentitude in May 2027. If you can get tickets to that, you may possess the powers of a god.