Billboard published the May Boxscore report Monday (June 29) with BTS breaking records and Metallica, Bad Bunny, Bruce Springsteen and No Doubt rounding out the top five. But while the biggest stars of K-pop, rock, Latin and more packed stadiums, comedians were road warrioring their way to sold-out theaters and arenas. Here, we’re looking at the five biggest comedy tours of May 2026.
Last year, Billboard launched its comedy hub with rundowns of the biggest touring comedians of the midyear Boxscore period (Oct. 1, 2024 – March 31, 2025) and of the months that followed. Sebastian Maniscalco, Matt Rife and Weird Al Yankovic topped some of those lists, but one of the most dominant comic acts of the decade maintains a stronghold on this month’s top spot.
Nate Bargatze scores a second consecutive — and ninth overall — month at No. 1. In May, he grossed $9.3 million and sold 119,000 tickets across 11 reported shows, according to figures reported to Billboard Boxscore.
Bargatze began the month at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif., playing to 19,900 fans on May 9-10. On the opposite side of the country, he topped himself with 20,200 tickets over two nights at Giant Center in Hershey, Penn.
Since launching last spring, Bargatze’s Big Dumb Eyes Tour has earned $124.7 million from 1.6 million tickets sold, just barely surpassing Kevin Hart’s Reality Check Tour ($124.1 million) to become the highest grossing tour of the decade.
Keep scrolling for a detailed breakdown of the top grossing touring comedy tours of May, by the numbers.
Boxscore charts are based on figures reported to Billboard Boxscore. International grosses are converted to USD.
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Matt Rife
Gross: $1.6M
Tickets: 13,700
Shows: three -
We Them One’s Comedy Tour
Gross: $1.6M
Tickets: 15,100
Shows: two -
“Weird Al” Yankovic
Gross: $1.8M
Tickets: 28,800
Shows: five -
Jimmy Carr
Gross: $2.1M
Tickets: 32,800
Shows: three -
Nate Bargatze
Gross: $9.3M
Tickets: 119,000
Shows: 11
