From Dangal To Lokah: The Highest-Grossing Films Across Six Major Indian Film Industries
Mumbai, September 20 - The Indian cinema is the most diverse in the world with its vast landscape of languages and cultures, each with its own set of superstars, styles, and record-breaking blockbusters. Over the years, the country has delivered rich results at the box office, not just with the mainstream Hindi cinema, but also with regional cinema, where films across different genres unlocked new potential.
As the Indian cinema continues to evolve and come closer than ever, there have been certain films which have not only ruled their regional box office but also established themselves as benchmarks for their respective industries. Here's a look at the current all-time biggest hits from six major Indian film industries, which have set benchmarks for their other films to achieve.
Hindi Cinema – Dangal (2016)
Aamir Khan's sports drama Dangal (2016) remains the undisputed king of not just Bollywood, but of Indian cinema. With a staggering 2070 crore worldwide gross, the wrestling drama became a global sensation, largely due to its phenomenal run in China, which contributed over 60% to its total collection. Years later, no Indian film has managed to surpass its worldwide record.
Telugu Cinema – Baahubali 2: The Conclusion (2017)
While Dangal remains the biggest Indian blockbuster, it was director S.S. Rajamouli's magnum opus Baahubali 2: The Conclusion (2017) that changed the game for Indian cinema. Starring Prabhas, Rana Daggubati, and Anushka Shetty, the epic fantasy collected 1788 crore worldwide and showcased the true potential of Telugu films and also broke the language barrier to emerge as a pan-India spectacle, with a large contribution from the Hindi language.
Kannada Cinema – KGF Chapter 2 (2022)
Kannada cinema was largely limited to its home state before the Yash-fronted KGF franchise changed the game for it. And it was KGF Chapter 2 (2022) that proved that Kannada cinema could dominate globally. With its raw action, style, and storytelling, the film amassed an extraordinary 1230 crore worldwide, cementing itself as the industry's biggest blockbuster to date.
Tamil Cinema – 2.0 (2018)
The Tamil film industry has failed to match its fellow Southern industries in terms of potential, but it has seen a continuous rise over the last few years. However, despite multiple 500 crores blockbusters, it is Rajinikanth and Akshay Kumar's sci-fi extravaganza 2.0 (2018), directed by Shankar, which is still the biggest Tamil grosser to date. The film, packed with cutting-edge VFX, grossed ₹691 crore worldwide.
Malayalam Cinema – Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra (2025)
The Malayalam cinema has been on an unreal rise for the last few years. From being limited to the regional barrier to breaking into the Pan-India market, the industry has made sure that it competes with the giants of Indian cinema. And it can't be a prouder moment for the industry that a female-led film is leading the charge. Kalyani Priyadarshan's superhero saga Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra, with a 267+ crore worldwide gross, has become the industry's highest-grossing film of all time, surpassing big names like Mohanlal's Empuraan.
Punjabi Cinema – Jatt & Juliet 3 (2024)
The Punjabi film industry has been struggling to deliver results at the box office due to various reasons. It has scored only two 100 crores grossers, with Diljit Dosanjh and Neeru Bajwa's romantic comedy Jatt & Juliet 3 (2024) being the biggest of them. It became the second-ever Punjabi movie, after Carry On Jatta 3 (2023), to cross the 100 crore milestone, grossing 102.60 crore worldwide.
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