Top 10 Highest Grossing Worldwide Bollywood Movies
The Hindi film industry “Bollywood” is the world’s largest film production center. The first feature film (silent black-and-white) produced in India was the “Raja Harishchandra” produced by Dadasaheb Phalke in 1913. With the passage of time, the industry expanded and the number of films produced.
From the 1960s, the industry achieved major commercial success more regularly, and the revenue earned multiplied manifold; The 1975 film ‘Sholay’ earned triple the amount that the previous record-holder 1960s Mughal-e-Azam earned, while Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! (1994) more than quadrupled Sholay’s record. Post the “dark phase” of the 1980s, business increased tremendously as is visible from the major success of films like Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!, Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge and Gadar: Ek Prem Katha.
Initially, the success of a film was determined by box office longevity than revenue. However, due to increasing competition from television and the threat of piracy, and later the advent of alternative media, longevity of films decreased drastically and revenue became the focus of success.
Below is a list of top ten highest grossing worldwide Bollywood movies of all time. Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! (released in 1994) was the first Bollywood film to cross INR 1 billion (US$15 million) worldwide.
1-PK (Peekay)
Budget 85 c, Gross: 792 c, India: 489 c, Overseas: 303 c
PK is all set to create history by entering the 300 crore club by the end of its 3rd Sunday run. PK, so far, has collected 326 crores nett at the Domestic Box Office, which takes its Gross total to 470c. And on the overseas front, the movie has earned 156 c gross, that takes its Worldwide gross business to 626 crores at the Box Office. The film stars Aamir Khan in the title role, with Anushka Sharma, Sushant Singh Rajput, Boman Irani, Saurabh Shukla, and Sanjay Dutt in supporting roles.
The film opened in 22 international markets during its opening weekend and grossed $28.7 million placing at #3 at the worldwide box office behind The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies and Gone with the Bullets. In North America, the film set an opening weekend record with $3.75 million (previously held by Dhoom 3) placing at #10 at the box office.
2. Dangal
Budget- 70 crore, Gross- 744.34 crore, India: 542.34c, Overseas: 202c
Star Cast: Aamir Khan, Sakshi Tanwar, Fatima Sana Shaikh, Sanya Malhotra, Zaira Wasim and Suhani Bhatnagar.
Dangal was released in the United States on 21 December 2016 and worldwide on 23 December 2016. The film was shown on an estimated 4300 screens in India and 1000 screens internationally.
3. Bajrangi Bhaijaan
Budget- 90 crores, Gross: 626 c, India: 433 c, Overseas: 193 c
Releasing on Eid 2015, Salman Khan’s “Bajrangi Bhaijaan” beats ‘Happy New Year’, ‘3 Idiots’ lifetime earnings. The film has become the first Bollywood film of 2015 to cross ?300 crore with its net collection at the domestic box office. The movie took just 9 days to earn ?200 crore from its domestic box office run. It is the third fastest film after “PK” and “Dhoom 3” to earn ?200 crore in just nine days.
4. Baahubali 2 Hindi (2017)
Budget- ?250 crore, Gross: 624 c, India: 624 c,
Starring; Prabhas, Rana Daggubati, Anushka Shetty, Ramya Krishnan, Tamannaah, Sathyaraj and Nassar.
5. Sultan
Budget- 70c, Gross- 589 c, India: 420.65 c, Overseas: 168 c
Star Cast: Salman Khan, Anushka Sharma, Amit Sadh, Randeep Hooda.
Sultan is a mixed bag of emotion, action, love and of course Salman Khan. Directed by Ali Abbas Zafar. Produced by Aditya Chopra under the Yash Raj Films banner. The film focuses on Sultan Ali Khan, a fictional wrestling champion from Haryana whose successful career creates a rift in his personal life.
6. Dhoom 3: Back in Action
Budget 1.5 billion (US$23 million) Gross- 542c, India: 372c, Overseas: 170c
Aamir Khan and Katrina Kaif starrer Dhoom 3 is breaking all records in India and overseas. Dhoom 3 became the highest grossing Bollywood film in India and around the world by collecting over 533 cr (US$85 million) worldwide in just two weeks. The film beat the INR3.95 billion (US$60 million) record set by Chennai Express according to Box Office India.
7. Chennai Express
Budget- 75c, Gross- 422c, India: 301c, Overseas: 121c
Chennai Express is a 2013 Indian romantic action-comedy film directed by Rohit Shetty and produced by Gauri Khan under the banner Red Chillies Entertainment. The film stars Shahrukh Khan and Deepika Padukone in lead roles. It was the highest-grossing Bollywood film of 2013. The film broke the record held by 3 Idiots (2009) in the domestic market and was declared a Blockbuster in India by Box Office India. It is also the third highest-grossing Bollywood film in overseas markets. Chennai Express went on to become the highest-grossing Bollywood film worldwide, surpassing 3 Idiots. With worldwide gross INR 422 crore (US$65 million).
8. Prem Ratan Dhan Payo
Budget- 80c, Gross- 399c, India: 305c, Overseas: 93.70c
9. 3 Idiots
Budget- 35 crores, Gross- 395c, India: 269c, Overseas: 126c
Since the year 2013, the film was at top the list of highest grossing worldwide Bollywood movies. The recard was first breaked by Chennai Express than Dhoom 3 and than PK. Now 3 Idiots is at number 6 in the list with worldwide gross INR 395 crore (US$60 million). It is a 2009 Indian comedy-drama film directed by Rajkumar Hirani, with a screenplay by Abhijat Joshi, and produced by Vidhu Vinod Chopra. 3 Idiots stars Aamir Khan, Kareena Kapoor, R. Madhavan, Sharman Joshi, Omi Vaidya, Parikshit Sahni and Boman Irani.
10. Happy New Year
Budget- INR 1.50 billion, Gross- 385 c, India: 295c, Overseas: 90c
Directed by Farah Khan and produced by Gauri Khan, Happy New Year had a bumper opening on day one setting new record by collecting around INR450 million (US$7.3 million) nett, making it the first Bollywood film to reach the figure for a single day. The film released on Diwali, 24 October 2014, in three different languages: Hindi, Tamil and Telugu. The film starer Shahrukh Khan, Deepika Padukone, Abhishek Bachchan, Sonu Sood, Boman Irani, Vivaan Shah and Jackie Shroff. HNY became the 9th Highest grossing worldwide Bollywood movies and collected around INR 383 crore.
