Not Hrithik Roshan-NTR's War 2, Prabhas' The Raja Saab or Yash's Toxic, this is the most anticipated Indian film of 2025

IMDb has released its list of the 20 most anticipated Indian films of 2025, headlined by some of the biggest stars of the country.

Published on: Jan 15, 2025, 13:00:13 IST

By Abhimanyu Mathur

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As the new year 2025 unrolls, a new slate of films is ready for theatrical release. After a huge 2024 that saw multiple Indian films gross over ₹1000 crore, several big films are ready for release in 2025, too. The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) released its list of the most anticipated Indian films of 2025, and unsurprisingly, a Salman Khan film took the top spot.

The most anticipated Indian film of 2025

Salman Khan's Sikandar was ranked number one by IMDb on its list of the most anticipated Indian films of 2025. Directed by AR Murugadoss, the film also stars Rashmika Mandanna, Sathyaraj, Prateik Babbar, Kajal Aggarwal, and Sharman Joshi. Reportedly mounted on a ₹400 crore budget, the film is an action entertainer, marking Murugadoss' return to Hindi cinema after 17 years. He last directed a Bollywood film in 2008—Ghajini. Sikandar is slated to release in March.

Expressing his gratitude and excitement, director A.R. Murugadoss shared, “I’m deeply humbled to see Sikandar topping the Most Anticipated Indian Movies of 2025! Working with Salman Khan has been incredible! His energy and dedication bring Sikandar to life in ways words can't express! Huge thanks to Sajid Nadiadwala for making it happen. Every scene in Sikandar is crafted to leave an indelible mark! I've poured my heart into designing each moment to stay with audiences forever.”

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The films that Sikandar beat

Sikandar beat several heavyweights from Bollywood and down south in the list. Kannada star Yash's first film since KGF series - Toxic - is second on the list, followed by Rajinikanth and Lokesh Kanagaraj's maiden collaboration, Coolie. Akshay Kumar-led ensemble comedy Housefull 5 and Tiger Shroff's Baaghi 4 round off the top 5. Other films in the top 10 include Prabhas-starrer The Raja Saab, Hrithik Roshan and Jr NTR's War 2, Mohanlal's Lucifer sequel, L2: Empuraan, Shahid Kapoor's Deva, and Vicky Kaushal-starrer Chhaava.

How IMDb made the list

Sharing the list on their social media handles on Tuesday, Internet Movie Database revealed how the rankings were calculated, "Among the Indian movies with planned releases in 2025, these titles were consistently the most popular with IMDb users, as determined by the actual page views of the more than 250 million monthly visitors to IMDb worldwide," read the caption.

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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