Hanuman Ansh, tiny ₹2 crore film with no stars, beats Yash's ₹500 crore Toxic at the box office in shock upset

Hanuman Ansh, a devotional film about the life of Neem Karoli Baba, is the number one film at the Indian box office currently, beating Toxic.

When it was originally set to release in March, Yash’s pan-India actioner Toxic was expected to go head-to-head with Ranveer Singh’s Dhurandhar 2. The crisis in the Middle East averted that clash as Toxic postponed its release. Eventually, as it released in August, Toxic had no competition, or so it thought. After a bumper start, the box-office fortunes of Toxic declined rapidly. On the other hand, Hanuman Ansh, a devotional film with no stars and a tiny budget, is now out-earning it in a massive upset.

Hanuman Ansh is a devotional film about Neem Karoli Baba.

Hanuman Ansh beats Toxic at the box office

Made on a budget of just ₹2 crore, Hanuman Ansh had an inauspicious start at the box office, earning only ₹10 lakh on its opening day. But it was after it completed three weeks in theatres that the film began to pick up. In its fourth weekend, Hanuman Ansh raked in ₹28 crore net in India. On Monday, it avoided a huge drop, but its performance on Tuesday raised quite a few eyebrows. On Tuesday, its 26th day in theatres, Hanuman Ansh registered a 54% jump in collections, netting ₹8.50 crore in India. On the same day, Toxic, the recent big release, managed only ₹8.20 crore, despite running in five languages and over 1500 more screens than Hanuman Ansh.

Hanuman Ansh’s growth at the theatres has been nothing short of stupendous. The film released in less than 100 theatres a month ago. This figure was reduced to around 20 by its second week. But then, a resurgence saw the film’s screen count surge to over 1500 by its fourth week at the box office. As things stand, Hanuman Ansh may eat up Toxic’s screens across India as exhibitors would want to bet on a ‘sure thing’ more than a sinking ship.

What is Hanuman Ansh about

Deep Dive

What factors contributed to the unexpected success of Hanuman Ansh at the box office?

How did Hanuman Ansh manage to out-earn Toxic despite a smaller budget and fewer screens?

Why is Hanuman Ansh considered a crucial case study for the Indian film industry?

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Written and directed by Vishal Chaturvedi, Hanuman Ansh features an ensemble cast, with Chandan Anand and Shobhinav Satyaa in the lead roles. The film was made on a shoestring budget of ₹2 crore and released in theatres without much fanfare on August 7. So far, it has earned over ₹50 crore net and looks set to cross ₹100 crore before shutting shop.

The film traces the life of Lakshman Das and how he found spiritualism, transforming into Neem Karoli Baba. It follows the spiritual leader's journey from age 13 to the point where he came to be loved and revered. The film's writer-director is a doctor-turned-filmmaker. It is produced by Swambhu Media Network Pvt. Ltd., Ragini S., Namrata G. S., and Anupriya A. Nagar. Hanuman Ansh is currently running in theatres.