Update 11th March 2013: Added Top 5 grossers of 2012. Article first published Oct 13 last year.
This article is an analysis of the Top 5 Highest grossing movies of each year since the start of the millennium. The analysis of the Top 5 highest grossing movies, I believe, gives a fair idea about the type of genres which have normally worked in Hindi cinema. It also tells us which actors have been the most successful over a long stretch of time. This is, NOT, in anyway, an analysis of the stardom of any actor.
2000:
- Kaho Na Pyaar Hai (Action/Romance) – 38 Cr
- Mohabbatein (Family Drama/Romance) – 33.25 Cr
- Mission Kashmir (Drama) – 22.25 Cr
- Josh (Drama/Action) – 20 Cr
- Refugee (Drama) – 18.75 Cr
- Average – 26.45 Cr
The new millennium started with the emergence of a new Superstar called Hrithik Roshan. His debut movie went on to become one of the biggest hits of debuting actor. Mission Kashmir came with high expectations & a high budget, & that is mainly why it failed to light up the BO. But it still managed to break into the Top 5 for the year which shows the sorry state of Bollywood at that time. Abhishek Bachchan made a decent debut with Refugee, & his father made a comeback with a big hit like Mohabbatein. SRK managed to hold on to his box office standing despite the hurricane called HR.
2001:
- Gadar (Romance/Action) – 75.5 Cr
- Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (Family Drama) – 47 Cr
- Lagaan (Sports/Historical Drama) – 29 Cr
- Indian (Action) – 21 Cr
- Jodi No.1 (Comedy/Family Drama) – 17.5 Cr
- Average – 38 Cr (+11.55 Cr from previous year)
Sunny Deol broke hand pumps in Gadar, & the film itself managed to break many box office records. One of the biggest hits of all time – on par with Sholay, DDLJ, HAHK and 3 Idiots. The effects of the film spilled on to the decent numbers for Indian. K3G took one of the biggest openings of all time. And, Lagaan went on to become one of the landmark films of India after it got nominated for an Oscar.
2002:
- Devdas (Drama/Romance) – 32.5Cr
- Raaz (Horror) – 22Cr
- Kaante (Action/Drama) – 19.5Cr
- Aankhen (Action/Drama) – 15.25Cr
- Humraaz (Thriller) – 14.5Cr
- Average – 20.75Cr (-17.25Cr)
Despite it’s budget, Devdas was touted to be a big hit, and SRK had the highest earning movie of the year once again. Raaz was arguably a bigger hit because of it’s low budget. Amitabh Bachchan had 2 movies. The best year for him since the 2000s started.
2003:
- Koi Mil Gaya (Children’s/Family Drama)- 42.5Cr
- Kal Ho Na Ho (Romance/Family Drama) – 35Cr
- The Hero (Action/Thriller) – 24.5Cr
- Baghban (Family Drama)- 22.5Cr
- Munnabhai MBBS (Comedy/Drama)- 21.25Cr
- Average – 29.15Cr (+8.4Cr)
Hrithik Roshan made a big comeback, laying to rest the doubts of him being a one film wonder. SRK managed to have a movie in the upper rungs of the Top Hits of that year once again. Sanjay Dutt made a comeback with the surprise hit Munnabhai MBBS which gave rise to the now iconic characters of Munna & Circuit.
2004:
- Veer Zaara (Romance/Drama) – 40Cr
- Main Hoon Naa (Action/Comedy/Family Drama) – 33Cr
- Mujhse Shaadi Karogi (Comedy) – 29.5Cr
- Dhoom (Action) – 29Cr
- Khakee (Action) – 25Cr
- Average – 31.3Cr (+2.15Cr)
SRK was a part of the 2 biggest hits of the year and strongly reaffirmed his position as the numero uno Superstar of Bollywood. Salman showed his popularity by not dropping from the list. Dhoom was the surprise hit of the year with the ‘cool factor’ working in it’s favour.
2005:
- No Entry (Comedy) – 43Cr
- Bunty aur Babli (Comedy/Drama) – 35.75Cr
- Mangal Pandey (Drama) – 28.25Cr
- Garam Masala (Comedy) – 27Cr
- Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya (Comedy) – 27Cr
- Average – 32.2Cr (+0.9Cr)
2005 was clearly the year of the Comedy genre. 4 of the Top 5 films had comedic elements in them. Salman had a resurgence of sorts with 2 films in the Top 5 for the first time. Aamir’s ambitious project, Mangal Pandey disappointed fans. This was the first year SRK did not have any movie in the Top 5 with his small budget movie Paheli failing to make a mark.
2006:
- Dhoom 2 (Action) – 80.25Cr
- Krrish (Action/Superhero) – 69.25cr
- Lage Raho Munnabhai (Comedy/Family Drama)- 71Cr
- Fanaa (Romance/Action) – 52Cr
- Don (Action) – 51Cr
- Average – 64.7Cr (+32.5Cr)
Hrithik’s year once again. He made a big comeback once again after 3 years. It was also the start of the re-emergence of the third Khan, Aamir Khan who had 2 big hits in Fanaa and Rang De Basanti (RDB missed out on the Top 5 by earning 1Cr less than Don). Munnabhai made a big comeback with LRM. This was the year the multiplex movement started to gain momentum, signaling the doubling of the average.
2007:
- Om Shanti Om (Family Drama/Comedy/Romance)- 79.42Cr
- Welcome (Comedy) – 70.75Cr
- Partner (Comedy) – 61.19Cr
- Chak De India (Sports/Drama)- 67.69Cr
- Taare Zameen Par (Family Drama)- 62.48Cr
- Average – 68.31Cr (+3.61Cr)
Even though, 2007 is known as the year of Akshay Kumar, it is quite surprising to see that Welcome was his only film to make the Top 5. SRK had 2 Blockbusters, & held on to his position as the biggest superstar for the umpteenth year. Salman made a place in the Top 5 list once again. His regular appearance in the list proved that flop movies never really changed his popularity among the masses.
2008:
- Ghajini (Action) – 114.67Cr
- Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (Romance) – 86.78Cr
- Singh Is Kinng (Comedy) – 68.48Cr
- Race (Thriller/Action) – 61.68Cr
- Jodhaa Akbar (Historical Drama)- 59.03Cr
- Average – 78.13Cr (+9.82Cr)
Aamir Khan stole the show with his 2nd Christmas release on the trot, Ghajini. Race went on to become a huge hit. SRK made his place, as usual.
2009:
- 3 Idiots (Family Drama/Comedy) – 202.57Cr
- Love Aaj Kal (Romance) – 66.89Cr
- Wanted (Action) – 60.69Cr
- Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani (Comedy/Romance) – 62.94Cr
- De Dana Dan (Comedy) – 48.3Cr
- Average – 88.28Cr (+10.15Cr)
3 Idiots changed the rules of the game. Backed by a huge marketing spree, 3 Idiots became the highest earning Hindi movie of all time. Aamir Khan became the top Superstar in the absence of any SRK movie to challenge that feat. Aamir’s movies made the top of the list 2 years in a row. Ranbir made his first appearance, & Salmania started to gain pace with the super success of Wanted.
2010:
- Dabangg (Action/Comedy) – 140.1 Cr
- Golmaal 3 (Comedy) – 107.56Cr
- Raajneeti (Thriller/Drama) – 92.93Cr
- Housefull (Comedy) – 72.07Cr
- My Name Is Khan (Family Drama) – 72.74Cr
- Average – 97.08Cr (+8.8Cr)
Salman’s 2nd Eid release on the trot, Dabangg, went to become a huge hit with the masses & the classes alike. Salman storm had just begun. Golmaal 3 & Housefull showed the popularity of comedy among the people. SRK made the list with MNIK.
2011:
- Bodyguard (Comedy/Action/Romance)- 141Cr
- Ready (Comedy) – 121Cr
- Ra.One (Action/Superhero)- 115Cr
- Don 2 (Action) – 110Cr
- Singham (Action) – 99.5Cr
- Average – 117.2Cr (+20.12Cr)
Salman’s year. Salmania hit a new high. The 2 highest grossing movies of the year were by Salman Khan. Salman matched Aamir when two of his movies became the top movie of the year, 2 years in a row. SRK tried to do something different, & couldn’t match up the success of Salman. SRK did show Bollywood how to truly market a film by promoting his ambitious production Ra.One to the hilt. Since Don & upto Don 2, every film in which SRK had a leading role in the time period for evaluation, went on to the reach the Top 5 of that year’s Box office list. Undoubtedly, a record.
2012:
- Ek Tha Tiger (Action/Romance) – 186 cr
- Dabangg 2 (Action/Comedy) – 150 cr
- Rowdy Rathore (Action/Comedy) – 132 cr
- Agneepath (Action/Drama) – 120 cr
- Housefull 2 (Comedy) – 113 cr
Salman’s year once again. Top 2 highest grossers of 2012 belonged to him. Second year that Shahrukh Khan didn’t feature in the Top 5 since 2000, as his only release Jab Tak Hai Jaan was the 7th biggest grosser of the year. With Talaash collecting approx 90 crores, Aamir Khan missed out too. Hrithik Roshan returned to Top 5 for the first time since Jodha Akbar in 2008. Overall, 2012 belonged to Salman and Akshay Kumar.
Genres:
Action – 24
Romance – 14
Drama – 28
Comedy – 26
Thriller – 4
Superhero – 2
Horror – 1
Sports – 2
Actors:
SRK – 14
Salman – 11
Aamir – 6
Hrithik – 9
Akshay – 12
Saif – 3
Ranbir – 2
Amitabh – 3
Ajay – 5
Abhishek – 4
Sanjay Dutt – 5
Sunny Deol – 3
The most popular genres are action, drama & comedy while the most popular actors are SRK, Salman, Akshay, Hrithik & Aamir. Interestingly, there has been a year-on-year growth in the cumulative business, the top 5 movies of the year have made (except for 2002). With the current trend, it won’t be long before 200 crores will be achieved numerous times every year.
Note – All figures are from BOI.
Article by Zayden
Hritik and srk were great before but now its salman khan time
Shahrukh king khan has highest no.of movies from last 2 decades..baadshah king of bollywood srk rockssssssssss..
dabangg 2 and k-786 can top the list in 2012 becoz masala movies are allrounders
aamir khan is no.1 n will remain no.1 until “3 idiots” record gets broken.but the record of “3 idiots” will be broken by aamir himself.”talaash”,”dhoom 3″ n “peekay”.what a line up.
times come and change and now it is the era of salman khan from 2010 onwards he is going to be ranked no1 every year.
Top 5 movies list of 2012
1.Dabangg 2.
2.Ek Tha Tiger.
3.Talaash.
4.Son of Sardar.
5.Jab Tak Hai Jaan/Khiladi 786.
Salman Rocksssss
Srk will be in top 5 this year also
akkki 3 movies in 2012
Don 2 was the best action thriller of bollywood
Interesting article. So.. what it suggests is, SRK has been the most consistent. The other superstars like Hrithik, Salman and Aamir.. have done well but not been very consistent.
Hrithik topped in 2000, then had a lean patch. Then re-emerged in 2003. Topped in 2006 again, then again had a lead patch after Jodha Akbar. Now he’s doing consistently well.
Salman was nowhere since 2000, but made a huge comeback in 2010 and he’s going from strength-to-strength now.
Aamir can only blame himself for not being on top. Movie quality wise he has been the most consistent (Way better than SRK). But if he disappears for 3 years after 3 Idiots, he can never be No 1.
Akshay has never had a year’s highest grosser. Even during his peak.
sabka BAAP—–>Shahrukh Khan..
Consistency is the key to success….proved by Shahrukh Khan..
Although Salman Khan is a big name in indian cinema now…
But Shahrukh Khan will be remembered as the Baadshah of Bollywood… He changed the equations of the indian cinema in the overseas too…
People know bollywood coz of Shahrukh Khan.. believe me ..i went to zanzibar, tanzania(africa) for a holiday..and enquired about bollywood..
SRK was the only name they knew… Man..he is phenomenon…
Wait for KRRISH to arrive next year. BLOCKBUSTER
k786
rowdy rathore
housefull 2
oh my god
2 blockbusters and 2 superhit
That too non-festival release.
Ques-Can any actor be any more consistent compared to SRK?
Ans-No
Ques-What is the mantra that keeps SRK the most consistent?
Ans-His passion, his love, his dedication towards his profession…
Ques-Any chances of SRK ruling the box-office in the coming years?
Ans-This is unpredictable but, he has made his place in every heart.Whenever you think of romance,you think of SRK’s movie.
Ques-But he has some great action, thriller, negative characters in his name too.
Ans-Yes, he has tried it all.But he’s remembered as king of romance.that’s the persona of a great man.I wud personally say, he’s the best we have in the industry.
@champ sachin tendulkar is consistent in making runs,but ppl dravid,sehwag in tests and yuvi,dhoni,kohli in odi,t20 won matches for india…who cares about consistency man..
@sunny, the author has clearly stated that the figures are taken from boxofficeindia. According to them, Ek Tha Tiger has collected 185 crore nett.
This list proved that SRK has been the most consistent Actor in India.He has given the maximum hits during 2000-2011.
1. Mohabbatein- Super Hit
2. Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham- Blockbuster
3. Devdas- Hit
4. Chalte Chalte- Hit
5. Kal Ho Na Ho- Hit
6. Main Hoon Na- Hit
7. Veer Zaara- Super Hit
8. Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna- Hit
9. Don- Hit
10. Chak De India- Blockbuster
11. Om Shanti Om- Blockbuster
12. Rab ne Bana Di Jodi- Blockbuster
13. My Name is Khan- Hit
14. RA.One- Hit
15. Don 2- Super Hit
Jab Tak Hai Jaan has all the potential to become an all Time Blockbuster.
Only one king and whose name is king salman wait and watch atleast more 8 years salman will give highest grossing year by year.
D only consistent actor in bollywood non other than d soul of hindi film industry,his persona,his charisma r ruling d world from 2 decade, he is 1 & only king,baadshah of bollywood “shahrukh khan”
salman-10 and akki-10 and listless number of flops and diasters…both are like lucky draws..akki is lik 4 movies per year sometimes 2007 or else 2009 type fate
@Indicine Team
You taken the figures from BOI OK.
But these are the figures till 4th weekend published by BOI & after that BOI direct published a article after 5th week & said the final lifetime of ETT is 187crs.
For more check BOI again.
And from Yrf’s officials its 199.11crs which is most accurate figure because no one want to pay extra tax of money which actualy not came to them.
Any way if you follwing BOI then follow them but check the accuracy at BOI.
KING!!!!
I think u’ve got what i wanna say
SRK fans dilemma: 90?s : Baadshah, king of bollywood… Agreed. srk
ruled.. 2000?s : King Khan… Aamir n Hrithik were also
successful but still Agreed.. 2010 : Still king?? ghantaa.. srk ka baap Salman
beats SRK 2 decades popularity in 3 years… Bolo
who’s king now??
Indicine why dont you make the actor that has the highest hit of the year for the past 2O years
haha @indicine, dis article is so mch biased bt d funny thing is it is mentioned in d above dat dis article is nt an analysis of any superstar’s stardom , wow i c wat u did dere indicine team , u r a big big khans supporter n mstly so called ur srk , yeah dis is true , dis article was less of an analysis n more of srk’s so called illustrous career n his grtness n all blah blah , hats off to u indicine team , u r indirectly promotin srk to seventh cloud, hrithik n aamir dnt hav mch movies in top 5 coz dey hav done less movies , if dey wud hav been releasing 2-3 films each yr den obv dey wud hav their films too in top 5 bt i found dis article completely promotin srk as u hav mentioned his nem in each yr n praised him to d full extent , m dissappointed , i need a rply @indicine , hw fair do u think dis article is
hrithik is nothing infront of 3 grand khans…he is neither consistent as well with series of flops in 2000 to 2003 except knph n kmg from 2003 to 2006 except dh2 n krysh n 2006 to 2012 except agneepath n znmd…so akki is better than hrithik
srk-most consistent in top5
aamir-has 1 release in 2-3 years n sure in top5
salman-box office record holder
hrithik-also has 1 release in 2-3 years but rarely find a place in top 5 e.g kites n guzarish in 2010 n znmd in 2011
akshay-whenever has a hit surely in top5
so boxoffice ranking
1.srk n salman
2.aamir
3.akshay
no place 4 hrithik becoz he is inconsistent
GREAT POST
Srk do all types of roles like action’drama’comedy’romance’sports’family
but salman only Action ? How can he was a actor? Akshay and Ajay are bettet actor then salman khan