Deep Data Cuts: Meet Chonda Pierce, Top Comedian In Smaller Venues

Tne feature in this issue’s spotlight on comedy is the ranking of the 100 highest grossing comedy stars who racked up close to $700 million at the box office in 2025. But not every comedian finds their way into the top 100. Our archives house sales figures and other box-office statistics for comedians at every level of the entertainment spectrum – from those who perform regularly at clubs or performing arts centers all the way to the household names that fill the 15,000-seat arenas.

This month’s Deep Data Cuts feature highlights the top 10 comedy performers who drew the largest crowds at venues with capacities of 1,500 or lower during the past three years. Many of them primarily appear at comedy clubs that book newcomers as well as established, well-known comics. Although, for this analysis, we are not including any of the entertainers who ranked on the aforementioned top 100 comedy tours chart.

In our deep dive, clubs are the primary type of venue seen in this analysis, but other types of facilities are also included. Theaters that fall under the 1,500-seat size limit are common, as are church sanctuaries or other buildings on their campuses where family-friendly comedy can be quite the draw. Casino stages outside the main showroom are also a typical destination for entertainers in this group.

A three-year comparison of ticket sales and grosses from live shows by these comedy acts presents an interesting parallel to Pollstar’s year-end business analysis for the top 100 worldwide touring artists, published in December of last year. There is a similar arc of box-office success during the past three years following the pandemic shutdown.

In 2023, box-office results for the 100 highest grossing tours were universally quite positive compared to pre-pandemic years, but 2024 numbers skyrocketed with record-setting results in practically every quantifiable metric at the box office. Then, last year, many areas that experienced blockbuster results in the previous year seemed to calm down and level off with correction as the norm in many ways. Grosses and ticket sales were lower overall than in 2024, but averages per show in 2025 were generally higher.

And there are similar results in the box-office tallies for comedy events in small venues during the past three years. After setting the standard in a post-COVID world in 2023, there were considerable increases the following year in every area – tickets, gross, per-show averages and the average ticket prices. Then in 2025, most everything returned to 2023 levels or lower.

In 2025, the top 10 artists sold a total of 156,069 tickets, but that is 23.4% less than 2024’s ticket total of 203,747. It was closer to 2023’s ticket count of 170,058, but still down 8.2%. Then, top 10 grosses totaled $6.2 million in 2025, reflecting a 32.7% decrease from 2024’s $9.2 million and a $13.2% drop from the $7.1 million gross recorded in 2023.

The per-show averages, though, were a mixed bag with tickets averaging more last year at 750 per show compared to 725 in 2024, while grosses averaged $29,803 in 2025, less than the $32,794 average in 2024. Compared to 2023, however, both 2025 averages are higher. In 2023, the top 10 comedians averaged 649 sold seats per show and grossed $27,269.

The number of shows reported also varied considerably with 26% fewer shows in 2025 compared to the prior year. The show count was also less than 2023’s total, by 20.6%.

Then, the average ticket price among the top 10 also follows a similar trajectory. It was $42.01 in 2023, then jumped to $45.23 the next year. It was less than both previous years in 2025, though, dropping to $39.72.

Among the artists who rank in the top 10, 16 of them make only one appearance on any of the charts during the three-year span, but six of them have multiple entries. Four of the artists rank on two of the charts, but only two of the six earn a ranking in all three years. And, of those two, one ranks No. 1 twice.

That is Chonda Pierce, the chart topper for both 2025 and 2024. She also earns the No. 5 ranking on the 2023 list. The Kentucky-born comedian, known as the “Queen of Clean Comedy,” sold a total of 24,747 tickets in 2025 to earn the No. 1 ranking and grossed $746,956 at 30 performances, promoted by faith-based event producer Awakening Events.

Her schedule was longer in 2024, though, and her 40-show tour drew 40,032 fans that year and grossed over $1.1 million. Another example of the box-office differences between both years is that she was one of three artists in the top 10 to surpass $1 million in grosses in 2024, but in 2025, no artist topped the $1 million mark. Then, Pierce takes the fifth ranking for 2023 with a ticket total of 16,231 from 19 reported shows, and her grosses from that year total $503,540.

Ranked No. 1 for 2023 is Irish comedian Tommy Tiernan who has the top ticket total of 25,435 from 24 performances. His gross total reached $950,426. He is also the other comedian, besides Pierce, who lands in the top 10 in all three years. For 2024, he is eighth on the chart with a sold-ticket count of 12,920 from 14 shows with a gross of $604,544. Then his 15,122-ticket total in 2025 earns the No. 5 ranking. His gross last year came to $701,616 from sales at 14 performances.

The four comics who charted twice are Danny Bhoy from Scotland, Texan Steve Treviño, ISMO from Finland and Canadian JC Surette, who has the highest gross of any artist on the charts. He grossed $1.66 million from 40 shows in 2024.