There was a time not too long ago when Akshay Kumar would deliver big with one film and fall with his very next. That has changed in the last couple of years as the superstar has emerged as one of the most consistent actors in the industry today. In fact, Akshay has never been as consistent as he is now and that too at a time when the industry is facing competition from the ever increasing number of entertainment options.
His success ratio from the beginning of 2016 is 100% and while two years means one film for someone like an Aamir Khan, Akshay has appeared in 5 films and taken them all above the 100 crore mark. This is a major achievement because Akshay films, unlike most other ‘top star’ films are not made on huge budgets nor have they had top female stars.
He’s set the cash registers ringing for 5 consecutive films now and during the perceived ‘low phase’ that the industry is going through at the moment, Akshay is the reason why the trade is celebrating after a long time.
The ‘post Bahubali’ phase was filled with major failures from superstars like Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan, but Akshay’s ‘Toilet Ek Prem Katha’ has ensured that the industry now looks at the next few films with hope.
Akshay’s contribution aside, Salman remains the man to beat when it comes to consecutive 100 crore grossers. Even his biggest failure in recent times – ‘Tubelight’ – collected 120 crore, while SRK’s Jab Harry Met Sejal collected half of that. Salman streak has now touched 11 and ‘Tiger Zinda Hai’ should be the 12th film. Even when 100 crore films become much more common in the future, the 11-film record of Salman will be tough to beat. With the audience rejecting mediocre films, all it takes it one bad film to end the streak.
Shah Rukh Khan holds on to the 2nd spot, but his run ended with FAN last year. The concern for him is the ‘minimum guarantee’ of his films was quite high just a couple of years ago, but that is now dropping to shocking new lows with films like FAN and JHMS. Akshay would be hoping to equal SRK’s record with Robot 2.0 (only Hindi collections will be taken into consideration). He could rise to second position with a risky but interesting film like ‘Padman’.
Aamir Khan’s run continues with Dangal, but he’d probably take 15 more years to get to Salman’s 11-film record even if each of his films do 100 crore or more from now.
Hrithik has to start again as Mohenjo Daro ended his run. Ajay Devgn, Ranbir Kapoor and others have to improve their consistency to match the Top 5.
Check out the list below:
- Salman Khan (11 films – 8 years) – Dabangg, Ready, Bodyguard, Ek Tha Tiger, Dabangg 2, Jai Ho, Kick, Bajrangi Bhaijaan, Prem Ratan Dhan Payo, Sultan, Tubelight (all-time record, streak should extend to 12 films with Tiger Zinda Hai)
- Shahrukh Khan (6 films – 4 years) - Ra One, Don 2, Jab Tak Hai Jaan, Chennai Express, Happy New Year, Dilwale (ended with FAN)
- Akshay Kumar (5 films – 2 years) - Airlift, Housefull 3, Rustom, Jolly LLB 2, Toilet Ek Prem Katha
- Aamir Khan (3 films – 3 years) – Dhoom 3, PK, Dangal
- Hrithik Roshan (3 films – 3 years) – Agneepath, Krrish 3, Bang Bang (ended with Mohenjo Daro)
Note: Actors highlighted in green are unbroken records, which would continue until a film falls short of 100. The names in red are runs that have come to an end.