Netflix Is A Joke Brings More Laughs In 2024 With 90,000 Extra Tickets Sold

Whether you’re a fan of clean comedians like No. 1 grossing Nate Bargatze and Jim Gaffigan (who’s made a name for himself with his love of food, most notably Hot Pockets: “I’ve never eaten a Hot Pocket and then afterwards said, ‘I′m glad I ate that.’ I’m always like, “I’m going to die. My back hurts! My watch stopped?!’”) or comics where no topic is off limits like rising superstar Matt Rife (who cracks jokes about transgender people and domestic abuse), the 2024 edition of Netflix Is A Joke Fest offered something for just about everyone.

Produced by Netflix in association with Live Nation, NIAJ Fest killed it with the follow-up to its already-huge 2022 debut by returning to Los Angeles with even more laughs: 542 shows featuring 624 performers at 38 venues over 11 days. The May 2-12 event sold more than 360,000 tickets compared with 270,000 in 2022, an increase of 90,000, or 33.33%. Last year’s event featured 300 acts across 10 days.

Along with a variety of comedic styles, the festival featured a range of box-office draws, with shows booked at Los Angeles landmarks from the 170-capacity Hollywood Improv to the 17,500-cap. Hollywood Bowl.

“There was a sense of community and everyone was working to make this great art form — comedy — bigger and better,” Geof Wills, president of Comedy at Live Nation, tells Pollstar, noting the variety of talent and different-sized venues and audiences. “[NIAJ Fest] just had an overall amazing vibe to it.”

Monique Barbieri, vice president of Comedy at Live Nation, said that collaboration was key when organizing the festival. The promoter utilized its “massive global reach and all of our relationships globally on the comedy side, and Netflix did the same,” she said. “We really worked together with them to lean on both teams’ strengths.”

Matt Blake, head of Comedy Touring at CAA, said the festival this year booked more artists earlier in the lead-up to the event, “which gave them more booking opportunities on the biggest comedians, as well as gave them a tremendous palate of comedians for the festival.” He also praised the festival’s marketing efforts for getting fans interested in specific shows as well as the overall festival.

“This enabled, for example, Shane Gillis to sell out The Greek Theatre, The Forum, and even team up with Andrew Schulz (who sold out the Forum months earlier) to sell out the Crypto.com Arena from floor to ceiling,” Blake said. That gig moved 13,059 tickets and grossed $881,879, according to Pollstar Boxoffice. “Trevor Noah wanted to play the Hollywood Bowl, so adding him to the lineup at NIAJ at that venue created the perfect opportunity,” he added. That one sold 15,200 tickets and grossed nearly $1.3 million.

“Gabriel Iglesias had already played the market earlier in the year, but having him host a show at the Palladium (1,641 tickets, $108,973 grossed) gave him the opportunity to participate, and he loved interacting with other comedians during the festival,” Blake said.

One thing that built buzz for Netflix Is A Joke Fest was the inclusion of a few performances that streamed live on the subscription service: “Katt Williams: Woke Foke” on May 4 at YouTube Theater and “G.R.O.A.T. The Greatest Roast Of All Time: Tom Brady,” hosted by Kevin Hart and featuring this week’s cover artist, Tony Hinchcliffe, among others on May 5 at the Kia Forum. Plus, Netflix streamed six live episodes of “John Mulaney Presents: Everybody’s in LA” May 3 and May 6-10, along with hosting a performance from the comedian at the Hollywood Bowl May 4.

“Shooting a special that’s broadcast without any edits isn’t for everyone, but Katt thrives in that type of situation and he cemented his position as one of the top comedians of all time on Netflix,” Blake said.

The Hollywood Bowl talent lineup deserves mention of its own. After hosting four shows from Dave Chappelle and friends in 2022, Netflix Is A Joke this time booked eight shows, kicking off with two nights from Jerry Seinfeld, Jim Gaffigan, Nate Bargatze and Sebastian Maniscalco May 1-2. Along with Mulaney, the schedule also included Kevin Hart, Bill Burr, Matt Rife, Trevor Noah and a special Seth Rogen “Smokes The Bowl” performance featuring Snoop Dogg and Ramy Youssef, among other guests.

With so many artists and venues hosting separate shows, Barbieri said there was a priority to make Netflix Is A Joke “feel more like a festival. How do we tie so many venues together and make it feel like one big experience?”

Toward that end, NIAJ Fest expanded what is now known as “Outside Joke,” a “mini-fest” that took place May 3-5 and May 10-15 outside the Hollywood Palladium.

Outside Joke featured musical performances, photo ops, exclusive merch, drag brunches, Netflix trivia, live music and podcasts, a Roast Battle competition, F&B and performances from Marc Rebillet, Masego, Reggie Watts and Morgan Jay, along with special appearances from a number of comedians, actors and drag icons.

“We doubled down on that footprint outside the Palladium,” Barbieri said. “It was one of the risks for 2022 [where] in 2024 we just collectively leaned in.”

Neither Netflix or Live Nation have confirmed when the next edition of Netflix Is A Joke Fest will take place, but both companies expressed excitement about what’s to come next.

“We want to keep pushing the envelope. and making things bigger and better,” Wills said. “Netflix clearly has that philosophy in the way they go about things.”