Everybody freaked out when the Sphere in Las Vegas reported an operating loss of nearly $100 million for the fiscal quarter that ended Sept. 30. However, those same people neglected to understand that the world’s most viral venue only opened its doors for the first time on Sept. 29. It was not that big of a deal.
Now, with the fourth quarter set to wrap in a few weeks, Sphere Entertainment will be back in the black. The company made a massive fortune from its two different shows during the first two months.
U2 played the Sphere 17 times in October and November as part of its five-month residency. When they were not on stage, Darren Aronovsky’s mind-blowing 18K film ‘Postcard From Earth’ aired 111 times.
17 U2 concerts totaled $30.7 million by the end of November at a record pace of $1.8 million per performance. 111 showings of Aronovsky’s immersive motion picture brought in $44.5 million at an average of a whopping $400,000 per showing.
The Sphere lost $98.4 million during Q3. That number is expected to be nonexistent in Q4, now that it is officially open. Bringing in more than $75 million from U2 and Postcard From Earth will cover most of that cost right off of the top.
That number does not include the robust advertising campaigns which run through The Sphere. Xbox, PlayStation, Meta and Coca-Cola were among the major brands to advertise on the exosphere.
In addition, the Las Vegas Grand Prix spent more than a week in town. There was a significant partnership between the Sphere and Formula 1 that will provide a big boost to revenue as well.
All of this goes to say that the Sphere is making money, and a lot of it. To collect more than half of a million dollars just to usher people into a seat and play a movie is a pretty sweet profit!