Overseas Ranking: Top Stars of Bollywood

Aamir Khan has finally edged past Shahrukh Khan in the overseas markets for the first time. Not too long ago, Shahrukh was in a league of his own, but after the super-success of ‘3 Idiots’ Aamir Khan films too have been taking record-openings. Aamir currently has two of the highest grossers in the history of Indian cinema to his credit – Dhoom 3 and 3 Idiots, only two films that have crossed $25 million overseas. The $25 million mark could be considered equivalent to the 200 crore club in the domestic market.

The rest of the list remains the same.

• The list below would be based on the gross box office collections of an actor’s last five movies. To keep the comparison fair, all figures are in US dollars.
• Only lead roles would be considered. Cameos, special appearances and guest appearances won’t be taken under consideration. Non-commercial and art films like ‘Dhobi Ghat’ have also not been considered.
• Dated movies that released before 2007 have not been considered.
• We have only included 8 actors in the list because the rest are not bankable stars overseas. The likes of Ranveer Singh, Arjun Kapoor, Varun Dhawan and Sidharth Malhotra, with a couple of solid overseas performers behind them, are emerging as stars to watch out for. Currently, it’s unfair to include them in the list.

Rank 1 Aamir Khan: Aamir Khan has finally ended Shahrukh Khan’s 2-decade long overseas dominance. With the release of his upcoming film ‘PK’, Aamir is likely to establish himself as the new king of the overseas markets. While the consistency and craze for Shahrukh will be difficult to match, Aamir too has a loyal fan-following which extends to countries like Japan and China. He currently has the highest grossing overseas film to his credit, Dhoom 3, which released in theatres during Christmas last year.

• Dhoom 3 – $31 million
• Talaash – $8.95 million
• 3 Idiots – $25.9 million
• Ghajini – $7.75 million
• Taare Zameen Par – $3.20 million
• Total – $76.8 million (average $15.36 million per film)

Rank 2 Shahrukh Khan: An actor who has dominated the overseas markets like no other star in the history of Indian Cinema, Shahrukh Khan remains the biggest crowd puller outside India. His lowest grossers are far higher than the highest grossers of most other actors. However, Aamir Khan films have taken business to another level in the overseas markets. Happy New Year had to collect $23.5 million or more for SRK to retain the top spot, the film collected about $15.9 million.

• Happy New Year – $15.9 million
• Chennai Express – $18.95 million
• Jab Tak Hai Jaan – $13.25 million
• Don 2 – $11.25 million
• Ra. One – $10.9 million
• Total – $70.5 million (average $14.05 million per film)

Rank 3 Salman Khan: The biggest star in India is at number three overseas and lags way behind Aamir and Shahrukh. Most of his films belong to the action / masala genre, which could be one of the reasons why his films don’t perform as well in overseas territories. His latest release, Kick, was also his highest grosser ahead of Ek Tha Tiger. Currently, Kick is the 3rd highest overseas grosser of the year after Happy New Year and Bang Bang.

• Kick – $11.3 million
• Jai Ho – $6.1 million
• Dabangg 2 – $8.48 million
• Ek Tha Tiger – $10.4 million
• Bodyguard – $8.3 million
• Total – $44.58 million (average $8.92 million per film)

Rank 4 Hrithik Roshan: The super-success of Bang Bang in the overseas markets has closed the gap between Hrithik Roshan and Salman Khan. It will be interesting to see if Hrithik can go past Salman after the release of Mohenjo Daro in 2016. The Top 4 stars are the biggest crowd-pullers overseas, the gap between them and the rest is pretty big.

• Bang Bang – $13.5 million
• Krrish 3 – $8.78 million
• Agneepath – $6.1 million
• Zindagi Naa Milegi Dobara – $7.21 million
• Guzaarish – $3.22 million
• Total – $38.81 million (average $7.76 million per film)

Rank 5 Ranbir Kapoor: Besharam under-performed big time, but Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani was a massive success at the box office. Barfi and Rockstar too did well.

• Besharam – $2.96 million
• Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani – $10.45 million
• Barfi! – $5.86 million
• Rockstar – $3.36 million
• Anjaana Anjaani – $3.2 million
• Total – $25.83 million (average $5.17 million per film)

Rank 6 Saif Ali Khan: Saif’s latest release Happy Ending has fared poorly in the overseas markets. The film has collected $1 million in its opening weekend, but the success of Race 2 and Cocktail ensures that Saif continues to hold on to the 6th spot. Happy Ending should collect around $1.5 – 1.75 million by the end of its run as it has dropped all over on Monday.

• Happy Ending – $1.75 million (expected)
• Humshakals - $2.65 million
• Bullet Raja- $1 million
• Race 2 - $6.4 million
• Cocktail - $4.3 million
• Total – $16.1 million (average $3.22 million per film)

Rank 7 Ajay Devgn: Singham Returns has done well and so have most of his films directed by Rohit Shetty. Apart from those, Son of Sardaar was a decent hit. Devgn is ahead of Akshay Kumar by a small margin. Films like Action Jackson don’t perform well overseas. If the film collects $5 million or more, Ajay will take the 6th spot, if it collects less than $3.25 million, Ajay will go below Akshay to Rank 8.

• Singham Returns – 4.3 million
• Satyagraha – $2.4 million
• Himmatwala – $1.3 million
• Son of Sardaar – $2.8 million
• Bol Bachchan – $4.1 million
• Total – $15.1 million (average $3.02 million per film)

Rank 8 Akshay Kumar: Singh Is Kinng (7.1 million), Housefull 2 ($6 million), Heyy Baby ($4.4 million) are several others were hugely successful films. Back in 2007 – 2008, Akshay movies used to fare better than Aamir, Salman and Hrithik’s. But his last few films have under-performed big time. His biggest hit in the last 2 years is Holiday: A Solider Is Never Off Duty.

• Entertainment – 2.8 million
• Holiday: A Solider Is Never Off Duty – $4.2 million
• Boss – $2.75 million
• Once Upon Ay Time In Mumbaai Dobaara – $1.85 million
• Special 26 – $2.75 million
• Total – $14.25 million (average $2.85 million per film)

And finally, we also have the list of the Top 10 highest grossing films overseas. Shahrukh Khan has a staggering 6 films in the Top 10, Aamir Khan has 2, Salman Khan and Hrithik Roshan have one each.

• 1. Dhoom 3 – $ 31 million
• 2. 3 Idiots – $ 25.9 million
• 3. My Name Is Khan – $22.98 million
• 4. Chennai Express - $ 18.95 million
• 5. Happy New Year – $ 15.9 million
• 6. Bang Bang - $13.5 million
• 7. Jab Tak Hai Jaan - $13.25 million
• 8. Don 2 - $11.25 million
• 9. Kick - $11.3 million
• 10. Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna - $10.8 million