Jack Whitehall was UK's biggest touring act of 2020 | ...and Jeff Dunham biggest in the world

Jack Whitehall was UK's biggest touring act of 2020

...and Jeff Dunham biggest in the world

He may have had less competition than in a normal year, but Jack Whitehall was Britain’s highest-grossing touring comedian this year.

The stand-up only played a handful of dates at the start of 2020, but they grossed more than £4million in ticket sales.

That was enough to place him among the world’s top earning live comedians – and the only Brit to make the list.

According to industry magazine Pollstar, the planet’s biggest touring comedian of 2020 was impressionist Jeff Dunham, whose shows grossed $10.9m (£8.5million). He was followed by Jo Koy and Jerry Seinfeld.

But comedians took much less at the box office than musicians, with Elton John topping the list with an $87million gross, across 38 shows, followed by Celine Dion.

Dunham’s 35 shows made him the 30th most lucrative touring act of 2020 across all genres, with Whitehall at 55.

Biggest worldwide comedy tours of 2020

Dunham1. Jeff Dunham, right ($10.9m)
2. Jo Koy ($9.83m)
3. Jerry Seinfeld ($9.72m)
4. Jim Gaffigan ($6.23m)
5. Gabriel Iglesias (£5.75m)
6. Bert Kreischer ($5.52m)
7. Jack Whitehall ($5.44m)
8. Trevor Noah ($3.05m)

Published: 14 Dec 2020

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