Highest-grossing Hindi film isn't even from Bollywood: How a 'regional' star beat Shah Rukh, Ranbir Kapoor, Salman Khan

The highest-grossing Hindi film is a dubbed version that grossed ₹812 crore, beating Jawan, Animal, Gadar 2, Chhaava, Dangal, and Stree 2.

Updated on: Jun 12, 2025, 12:00:57 IST

By Abhimanyu Mathur

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For seven decades since recordkeeping on box office collections in India began, Hindi films have largely ruled the roost. The country's highest-grossing film was always from Bollywood in an unbroken chain from Kismet to Dangal. The dubbed versions of Tamil films began getting big numbers only if superstars like Kamal Haasan or Rajinikanth were in them. But, they were no match for Hindi films. All of it changed in 2017 when Baahubali scored big in the north, only for Shah Rukh Khan to wrestle back the crown six years later. But this false resurgence did not last long, and another 'regional' film beat Bollywood biggies to become the highest-grossing Hindi film.

The highest-grossing Hindi film

Not Stree 2, Pathaan, or Chhaava, the highest-grossing Hindi film is actually Pushpa 2: The Rule. The Hindi-dubbed version of the Telugu blockbuster earned ₹812 crore net in India alone. Trade pundits estimate that Pushpa 2 earned over ₹1000 crore gross worldwide with its Hindi version alone, more than half its total earnings of ₹1742 crore. The ₹812-crore haul was enough to help it dethrone Stree 2 as the highest-grossing Hindi film. The 2024 Shraddha Kapoor-Rajkummar Rao film had netted ₹598 crore in India.

How Allu Arjun beat the Khans and other Bollywood superstars

For a dubbed film to be the highest-grosser in Hindi is a stupendous achievement. The Allu Arjun-starrer not just beat Stree 2, but also the biggest hits of several other stars like Shah Rukh Khan (Jawan - ₹582 crore), Ranbir Kapoor (Animal - ₹503 crore), Sunny Deol (Gadar 2 - ₹526 crore), Vicky Kaushal (Chhaava - ₹586 crore), Aamir Khan (Dangal - ₹387 crore), Salman Khan (Sultan - ₹339 crore), and Akshay Kumar (Good Newzz - ₹205 crore).

Pushpa 2 managed it by being the heavily anticipated sequel to a film that had already done well in Hindi. Two other films had done this in the past. KGF Chapter 2 earned ₹435 crore in Hindi, and Baahubali 2: The Conclusion broke records with its ₹511-crore haul in Hindi. Pushpa 2 just used that template and pushed the boundaries beyond what had been done so far.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Abhimanyu Mathur
Abhimanyu Mathur is Deputy Editor, Entertainment at Hindustan Times. With almost 15 years of experience in writing about everything from films and TV shows to cricket matches and elections, he inhales and exhales pop culture and news. Currently, he watches movies and TV shows and talks to celebrities for a living, while occasionally writing about them as well. A journalism graduate of Delhi College of Arts and Commerce, Delhi University, Abhimanyu began his career with Hindustan Times at the age of 20, swapping classrooms for newsrooms at an early age. He began his journey in the early days of digital journalism, later switching to the madness of print journalism. Work has led him to far off places like Japan and Jordan, as well as to the interiors of Haryana and the Indo-Pak border. He dabbled in city reporting in places like Meerut, Gurgaon, and Delhi, covered the Olympics and Cricket World Cups, before finding his calling in entertainment and lifestyle during the pandemic. A Rotten Tomatoes Certified Film Critic, he is equally at home covering stories on ground as he is interviewing celebrities and studios, and sometimes prefers to shepherd teams in delivering traffic through the day. Even as his role has evolved from reporter to supervisor over the years, his first love remains writing (and of late, talking on camera). With a good understanding of cinema and its trends, and a keen eye for detail, he continues to spark conversations around showbiz for readers around the world.Read More

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