The tour reaffirmed the box-office clout of Metallica, who are currently in the planning stages of an extensive headlining tour next year, tentatively set to begin in March.

Metallica last toured in 2000, taking in $40.5 million from only 20 shows. About a dozen of those concerts were Summer Sanitarium dates, featuring Kid Rocck, Korn and others.

This year's Summer Sanitarium lineup featured Limp Bizkit, Linkin Park, Mudvayne and the Deftones, in addition to Metallica, and was one of only two stadium tours for 2003.

While the Sanitarium lineup was powerful, Metallica were clearly the linchpin act in a summer crowded with multi-act hard-music tours. Whether the competition was Ozzfest ($23 million) or Lollapalooza ($14 million), Sanitarium easily came out on top, according to Billboard Boxscore.

That's good news for an industry where longevity and consistency are valuable commodities. "Metallica qualifies themselves once again as the best hard rock band on the planet," says Rick Franks, regional VP for Clear Channel Entertainment and promoter of the July 4 Pontiac (Mich.) Silverdome date that took in $2.5 million.

Source: blabbermouth.net

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