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
indicine always tries its best to say srk is king but the fact is AAMIR is number 1 and just bcoz he never does dat many movies its simple he is not in every year’s list but whenever he does he comes out on top so its proven AAMir is GOD of Indian cinema and SALMAN is next big 1
Amir is a real actor
@Indicine Team: not agreed all other sites shows EK THA TIGER 195+CRORES re-check the status.
Veena: that millions change into billions and became fans of SALMAN KHAN.
ek tha tiger could not cross 200 crores ha,ha,ha….no problem jab tak hai jaan will!
@hrithik haterz, m nt surprised , u r supposed to hate hrithik , no matter hw gud he does , coz ur nem suggests so , so u cn nvr lyk him , bttr dnt expose ur prsonal opinions here , its an analysis , nt ur personal opinion , n yeah u pathetic khan fan , khans r d mst pathetic things in bollywood except aamir , n srk is d mst ghatiya insaan of all tym !! fr ur kind info , hrithik is d only debutante who defeated d combined power of amitabh,shahrukh,yashraj films dat too wid his vry 1st film !! evn non commenrcial film lyk mission kashmir gav compeition to mohabbatein , such was d craze fr hrithik in 2000 !! i think u were alive at dat tym , so u must hav noticed dese phenomena !! hai kisi baap k bete me dum jo esa kar sake ?? if u c, hrithik has done only 20 films in his career till nw , out of wich he has given us around 10 successful films , who d hell in ur khans has dis mch of success ratio , dey hav listless no.s of flops to their nem !! dnt evn tlk illogical things u pathetic human
Aamir Khan & Hrithik Roshan have been the most consistent stars of the last 12 years.
Aamir did 9 films as an actor in betn 2000-2012 (before Talaash) and out of those 9,
2 are All Time Blockbusters ( Ghajini & 3 Idiots)
3 are Super-Hits ( Lagaan, Fanaa & Taare Zameen Par)
1 Hit ( Rang De Basanti )
1 semi-hit ( Dil Chahta Hai)
even films produced by him, in which he hasn’t starred have done great. Jaane tu ya jaane na & Delhi Belly were Super-Hits, while Peepli-live was a Hit.
also 4 of his movies among these were for Oscars.
Hrithik Roshan was another consistent performer in this period
he gave–
5 Blockbusters ( Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai, Koi Mil Gaya, Dhoom:2, K3G & Krrish)
1 Super-Hit ( Agneepath)
2 Hits ( Jodha Akbar & ZNMD)
1 Semi-Hit ( Mission Kashmir)
so, Aamir & Hrithik’s success ratio has been the best among all actors.
But since the last 3 yrs, even Salman has been very consistent.
Ek Tha Tiger only 185 Cr?????????????? It has almost reached 200 Cr, at least it has crossed 199 cr in Indian BO.. Why wrong figure Indicine???????
Top biggest grosser world wide list.1. 3 idiot 384 crore 2. Ek tha tiger 315 crore 3. Bodyguard 230 crore 4 dabangg 215 crore.5. don 2 206 crore 6. Ra1 202 crore 7. M n i k 200 crore 8. Agneepath 192 crore 9. R r 185 crore 10. Ready 182 crore
@hrthiki hater/saky 2
don’t come here with ur stupid logic Hrthik has a success ratio of 50 ,Aamir has also 50,Srk has 45-47 & salman has 40-43%.akki has below 33 go check any BO related site
Ashoka released in 2001 solo Srk release and floped so the record this article talks about is all biased
“Krrish 3”, and “Knight and day” (Hollywood Remake) will be the biggest blockbuster of all time. While everyone should know why krrish will reach that land mark, Knight and Day will be benefited for being associated with Fox studio which which is supposed to provide all technical support to match the Hollywood standard. Only Dhoom 3 will be a tough competition for Hrithik next year. Other actors will be flashed out on toilet due to the havoc to be created next year ;)
@hrithik hater
Dont talk rubbish here Aamir & Hrithik both have sucess ratio of 50%,Srk has 45-47,Salman has 42 -44 & akki has below 33 go check any BO related site
OBVIOUSLY SALMANS !!!! DABANGG 2 !!!! WILL BE THE BIGGEST HIT OF 2012,AND INDICINE WILL DEFINETLY UPDATE THE SAME..
EK THA TIGER is second top spot with 199.7 crore
to all the haters, i am here to defend hrithik and aamir coz dey r genuine superstars n dwn to earth , bring it on u all pathetic haters , m ready !!! let haters dislyk my comment as mch dey wnt coz dey r mere losers
shahrukh consistency ??? billu , paheli , shakti, josh, ra.one all flops list goes on !!!
salman consistency ??? yuvraaj , main aur mrs khanna , london drms , veer , hello, heroes, all flops list goes on !!!
akshay consistency ??? patiala house ,tasveer , tashan , humko deewana kar gaye , kambakht ishq , desi boyz all flops, list goen on !!!!
Pls like my comment if you also want top grossing movies from 90 to 99
after srk 14, its only akki who gave 10 hit so thats why akki is a superstar and better than other star. And according to this akki is always in top till 2007 to 2012 except 2011. So the result is that akki always stands in top 3. Anybody don’t challenge akki stardum.
this is the correct fig 185 cr ……….plz check boxoffice india…all other site give falls information…tiger ends it bussiness with 185 cr………………………
well done indicine, its shows consistency of an actor to give superhit, years came n gone stars come n gone, but a good actor is one who keep his consistency year after year and I think the person since his debut he keep on giving hit is SRK
Year 1992 his debut Dewana he became a star
1993 Bazigar n darr he became a superstar
Year after year he giving hits either is Karan arjun, DDLJ 1995, dil tu pagal hai, pardes in 1997, kuch kuch hota hai in 1998 n so on…………..
every actor has his stardom so we can’t underestimate any of these.
srk is the greatest. Every other actor have their own quality. Even as a srk fan i sometimes think that aamir khan is a better actor. Even after so many hits, super hits and blockbusters, my favourite is tdp. That movie was not run by any big stars or action sequences. Infact it was run by a good story and an actress. The great ‘vidya balan’. Try to understand a movie more than its actors
Regarding people sayin akki has not given a highest grosser but can people say any of those stars given 4 to 5 hit in a single year? a superstar can’t be just measured on highest grosser ot ATBB, it depends on a lot things, and from the list almost all these highest grossers since veer zara was released on a holiday, so you can’t measure based on that.
Dabangg,Dabangg2,Ek tha tiger,Ready and Bodyguard 4years alltime blockbuster salmania
out of 8 releases Aamir’s 6 films have been in the top 5….Aamir takes a lot of risk by doing less movies…still he has the grip over the audience….A true superstar…….AK,SRK have been the most consistent…..
@velocity just becoz someone lik hritik haterz say somethin u keep barkin abt salman and srk…everyone does there hardwork..salman is controversial but u dont knw salman personally i knw him..i met him he is very gud person…plz dont make no sense comments abt any other actor..salman is much better person thn wat crap media writes in the paper..if you dont believe ask ur own favourite hritik roshan or his father rakesh roshan man..gud luck…
Zayden is a self-proclaimed srk fan, and all his articles and stats are only to show srk is better than salman
period.
Salmania Rocks this year also again and again.
With respect to the Indicine site,i want to clear one thing that if these figures are really taken from BOI,then ra one including its 3 version languages did only 114 cr & if only hindi version is taken then it is 110 cr for ra one & 106 cr for don 2.
I am very sure the above figures of ra one & don 2 are not taken from Boi.If BOI figures are taken then Ek tha tiger 187 cr,rowdy rathore 134 cr,golmaal 3 108 cr,ready 122 cr,dabangg 2 150.84 cr,dhoom 79 cr,ra one 110 cr,don 2 106 cr.THESE FIGURES ARE VERY TRUE & ARE FROM BOI SITE.