Stand-up comedy is one of the few old-fashioned forms of live entertainment that seems to be thriving as much as it ever has, both on a cultural and commercial level. Social video platforms are flooded with clips from comedians’ live shows and podcasts, and ideally, that engagement leads to where the real money is: performing on the road. That’s certainly the case with the comics on this list, compiled from Billboard’s recently released Boxscore concert figure charts. Here are the highest-grossing touring comedians of 2024:
10. Jo Koy – $26 million
Jo Koy’s energetic brand of comedy has earned him plenty of fans online, but it works best live and in person. He performed 83 live shows in 2024, selling a total of 368,000 tickets and grossing some $26 million in revenue.
9. Adam Sandler – $27 million
The Sandman is arguably the only comic on this list who can legitimately call himself both a movie and television star, and his 2024 tour parlayed that stardom into a big $27 million gross. And he did it performing a fraction of the overall dates compared to many of the other performers on this list, selling 261,000 tickets across just 26 shows.
8. Jerry Seinfeld – $27.8 million
The creator and star of “Seinfeld” might be the richest person on this list, and he famously maintains a prolific touring schedule not for the money but for the love of performing comedy. And as the above clip indicates, 2024 was a particularly busy year for him, putting out and promoting the Netflix original comedy “Unfrosted.” Nevertheless, he grossed $27.8 million by selling 199,000 tickets over 36 shows last year.
7. Trevor Noah – $29.7 million
Former “Daily Show” host Trevor Noah had a relatively low-profile 2024 compared to when he was hosting the Comedy Central series or releasing his acclaimed memoir (although he did host the Grammy Awards). But he still managed to gross $29.7 million over 94 shows and 392,000 tickets over the course of the year.
6. Bert Kreischer – $29.7 million
For a guy famous for getting drunk and taking off his shirt, it’s kind of remarkable how Bert Kreischer has managed to become one of the truly inescapable rock stars of live comedy today. His 2024 tour has the numbers to prove it: He grossed $29.7 million by selling 388,000 tickets to his 64 shows over the course of last year.
5. Sebastian Maniscalco – $36.5 million
Like Kreischer, Sebastian Maniscalco has attempted to parlay his comedy stardom into a film career with mixed results. But there’s no question that on stage, he remains one of live comedy’s top draws. In 2024, he sold 293,000 tickets to a total of 53 shows for a gross of $36.5 million.
4. Katt Williams – $37.5 million
One of the true comedy vets on this list, Katt Williams presumably saw an increase in his live audience following his infamous interview with Shannon Sharpe. He sold 399,000 tickets across 60 shows, grossing $37.5 million in the process. And he is the first performer on this list to break onto the Boxscore All-Genre chart as well, coming in at number 84 on that list.
3. Gabriel Iglesias – $42.8 million
Gabriel Iglesias, also known as the man called Fluffy, is another of comedy’s rock stars, with a very devoted live following. They showed up in droves for his “Don’t Worry Be Fluffy” 2024 tour, 603,000 of them, in fact, across an impressive 124 dates. The tour’s total gross for the year $42.8 million.
2. Matt Rife – $57.5 million
Probably the most polarizing comic on this list is Matt Rife, who brought a true rise-and-grind sensibility to his 2024 touring schedule, performing 256 shows, the most of any comic on the list by a wide margin. He was rewarded with a total gross of $57.5 million from some 733,000 tickets sold.
1. Nate Bargatze – $82.2 million
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It probably comes as no surprise that Nate Bargatze was the highest-grossing touring comic of 2024 since he’s had an incredible year and probably has more fans than he ever has thanks to his “Saturday Night Live” hosting gigs and his recent Christmas TV special. 1.1 MILLION of them showed up to see him tell jokes across 148 shows in 2024, for a total gross of $82.2 million. That also makes him the 37th highest-grossing touring performer of any kind for 2024 as well.