Las Vegas Sphere Reveals How Much Money It Has Made Since Opening
The Las Vegas Sphere has already turned quite the profit in just over a scant two months that the Madison Square Garden-owned venue has been in operation. And it has its first two marquee shows to thank, U2's UV Achtung Baby Live at Sphere residency and the Darren Aronofsky original film Postcards From Earth, which was designed and shot for the Sphere.
According to a securities filing Tuesday morning via The Hollywood Reporter, the two shows have earned a combined $75 million through Nov. 30.
The Irish rockers brought in $30.7 million in revenue for the company across 17 performances, averaging $1.8 million per concert. Meanwhile, Postcards From Earth has racked up $44.5 million from 111 screenings, generating about $400,000 in revenue per showing.
As a result, the company says it's expecting the Sphere to be profitable for the current fiscal quarter ending Dec. 31.
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MSG is also generating a decent amount of brand advertising revenue from the Sphere's LED display "exosphere," with Formula 1 taking over for the inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix last month. Additionally, NFL Sunday Ticket, PlayStation, Meta, Xbox and Coca-Cola have also signed on for campaigns.
The news is almost certainly welcome to investors, after the Sphere previously reported an operating loss of $98.4 million in the fiscal quarter ending Sept. 30, just after U2 kicked off the first show of their residency. At the time, the venue also lost its chief financial officer Gautam Ranji, who reportedly quit suddenly after a screaming match with CEO James Dolan.
But the Sphere is still likely a ways off from being profitable, considering that it cost a whopping $2.3 billion to build. And that $75 million also doesn't fact in operating costs, which were about $7.8 million through the third quarter.
However, with a newly-announced stint of Phish shows in April 2024 and the company eyeing future acts such as Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Bon Jovi, and Paul McCartney, the momentum is certainly there.