Sphere rakes in $75m in two months from two shows

The Sphere in Las Vegas has already made $75m in just over two months from its two marquee shows: the U2 residency U2: UV Achtung Baby Live at Sphere and the original Darren Aronofsky film Postcards From Earth.

That’s according to a securities filing by Sphere Entertainment, which said the company expects the Sphere segment of its business to be profitable (or “report positive adjusted operating income”) within its current quarter ending 31 December.

According to the filing, the first 17 U2 performance brought in $30.7m by the end of November, at an average of $1.8m per concert. Since then, U2 has gone on to confirm a total of 40 dates in all, running until March.

The first 111 screenings of Aronofsky’s film also brought in $44.5m in revenue, averaging $400,000 per showing.

The company also says it has a robust advertising business based on campaigns on its programmable LED Exosphere display, but does not give a figure for revenue.

Prominent brands mentioned in the filing include Formula 1, which took over the Sphere from 15-19 November for the inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix. Also mentioned are the Sphere’s first-ever brand campaign, YouTube’s NFL Sunday Ticket, which took place in early September, and further campaigns by PlayStation, Meta, Xbox and Coca-Cola.

The information was provided in connection with notification that the Sphere plans to seek $225m in convertible senior note debt from financial institutions.

Only three weeks ago, the Sphere reported an operating loss of nearly $100m in the quarter ended 30 September, a financial period which ended just a day after the opening of the high-profile venue. It also parted ways with its chief financial officer, Gautam Ranji, at the same time.

In addition to announcing further U2 shows, the Sphere has also revealed plans for four shows by the cult music group Phish.