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
I mean dhoom 2 is 79 cr but not dhoom.
@rajesh 4-5 hits r multistarers not akki solo hits….in suhag nagma hav better role thn akki..
5 blockbuster in à row
3 back to back highest grossing movie in a year
Most no. Of ATBB/BB under his belt
Most no. Of century
Fastest century
1st day collection
2nd day collection
Weekend collection
1st week collection
All r to him
Aamir nd Srk they r also top but Akshay is not as big as khans were/are
And that is why we only believe in and love srk whatever happend he always there
despite all the negative opinions and the haters even in his flops like they say about ra1 he also there
in 20 year it is more than fair to have 2 , 3 or even 5 flops
SRK whatever they say whatever he do wherever his rink is we love him and always will do .
SRK to me you are the best and you will always be , i love and respect you sir
@indicine fan dhoom 2 collected 80.25 cr according to BOI not 79.
srk 8 awards best actor filmfare, highest hits in India and worldwide, unicef award, padmashree award, 2 awards best actor critics filmfare, 1 award best villain, highest nominations in best actor category, the opus wriiten on him, this book only written for greats like Mohamed Ali, Manchester United!! madam thusand statue in new york, global phenomenon popularity compared to hollywood stars, international awards French arts awards, british awards, morrocco film festival award for contribution to cinema.knighthood in Malaysia!!!! can anyone reach this level then you bark!!!! Salman is a blockbuster only in India, Aamir same and hrithik same plus akshay and ajay. So my friends SRK is in a different league altogether you may write what you want his achievements are worldwide not only in India!!! These are facts and not rumors!!!
superstar
r u fan of khans or hater of akshay,u always make negative comments about akshay
in the above list,akki has more movies than salman and amir
first day,weekend,week records r not a big deal,after 4to5 years average movies will collect
akkis total movies collection is 2045cr till now, and lot to come
may salman(1785cr) can touch this,but srk(1470),and amir(1000-)cant
hrithik is coming back to commercial movies like k3,bangbang nd shuddhi…which hs blockbusters written all over..he hs to do movies which r low on drama nd sentiments nd add lttle bit of humour,then there will be no stopping hrithik at BO……nxt few yrs hrithik,salman,aamir will b top 3 actors
akshay 12 hits
salman 11 hits
WOW
@boss
i’m not akshay hater at all, i always goto theatre to watch akshay movies but true is akshay is behind th khans, yes you are right
akshay 2045 in 120 movies
salman 1785 in 80 movie
shahrukh 1470 in 70 movies
aamir 1000 in just 40 movie
if 1st day or 1st week or 1st weekend is not a big deal then 2045 crores in 120 movies is also not a big deal
@sachdev bro these guys xzone,velocity and others dont use there own names will talk crap only here…insultin and spreadin will give happiness to these losers..becoz thy sadistic…
article mention forget to mention saif who given fine performances and gud films i.e realistic romantic films hum tum,love aaj kal and cocktail,race and omkara…go hell with numbers…
No doubt srk was indeed more consistent than any other actors out there. But he’ll never be able to cross those records that were set by aamir and salman, maybe because of decrease in his stardom, lately. But, no matter what bollywood will always remember him as one of the best actors that it has ever produced. Hm..eagerly waiting for d3 and k3 and how they’ll manage to earn with the box office collections.
123@somebody: yes, anyone can get all these if they have a PR like srk have. :p
The below comment is most notable from article:
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.
So in terms of current popularity no one is ahead of salman except hollywood top actors. We salman fans are realistic n never make idiotic comments.
@bhuwan : nice reply to velocity!!! :D
@velocity: ultimately hrithik fans walking path of srk fans, i am afraid for hrithik coz his fans want a war with khans fans. Hope u have seen hrithik’s body before KPH n knows who inspired him for such a perfect psyche n hard work for workouts.
All the Khans are reaching their 50’s. Hrithik is in his thirties. Salman may not have the most hits – but he has helped most newcomers (actors, music producers, directors etc). He was never selfish. He never looked at his own interests – this is the reason for his popularity. For Salman Khan a hit was when the artists he helped became successful. Aamir is quality. Shah Rukh is Karan and Yash Chopras actor. Without them he is nothing. He needs to look back and remember the real people that helped him when he entered the industry. He should not at award functions insult other artists that are doing better than him (remeber to respect the big B) otherwise he will be very lonely one day. Ranbir and the other newcomers are now making inroads.
2013 :
1.Krrish 3
2.Dhoom3
3.Ouatim2
4.Mental
5.CE
6.Himmatwala
7.Yeh Jawani Hia Diwami
8.Boss
Ameesha patel and preity zinta, the only actresses to feature twice as solo female lead in the top grossing movies of a year. kaho na pyaar hai, gadar, kal ho na ho and koi mil gaya.
In kaho na pyaar hai, there were two novices while in koi mil gaya, hrithik roshan was on verge of becoming 1 film wonder. This makes both these films even bigger success for these two ladies.
and gadar is still unbeatable till date. Only 3 idiots came close to it but could not beat it.
This list is just from the 2000s decade. Make a list from 90s also and then see where this Aamir Khan used to stand (when the excuse of break was not there). His films would struggle to enter even top 10! Hahaha!
It is clear who is the most consistent star since last 2 decades it is SRK. Record of one multistarrer film doesn’t make anyone no.1.
Haters – truth always hurts hard. Sorry! :D
Krrish 3, krrish 3, krrish 3 after that again hrithik apna awkat mein ajayega tum sab yahoo kehna chahte hona
really shahrukh khan is amazing from the last 20 years only not in bollywood even in whole world
he is superb outstnding allrounder
i think idont have word to describe his achievements
akshay and salman the real superstar akshay always release non festival date and give 2 blockb and 2 super hit , salman body and acting rock
Plzz correct ur collection of Jthj…Its 122cr nett n nt 102cr..
Its d 4th biggest hit of d year…
from above list srk’s 5 movies are multistarar ok. So srk cant get that crediet himself.
Superstardom janna h to salman k films se pechano.despite of flops his fan following goes on increasing.for other stars they need good story.script .yashraj prouduction.for salman nothing.his name is enough.you moron accept salman all r just normal actor. Salman is megastar.why frm 2000.why nt frm 1989. Kon lucky draw bol raha tha. Apni pehli 5 film me 5 hit koi .de skta hai. Apni pehli kisine atbb di hai kya.
Stardom is all about fans nt abt awards . Which salman have. And others dont have
srk’z ddlj still runs in some theatres from last 1000 weeks now who iz king
Salman , Salman , and only Salman is the best star of Bollywood . Do you guys know Salman Khan of the current decade of 2010’s is equivalent to what Amitabh was in 70’s , Rajini in 80’s 70’s and 2000’s . Salman’s top 3 Highest grossing movies of the year proved Salman Khan’s largest loyal fan following in India within just 4 years , Salman just proved that only he is the BO King and no one else . Aamir’s Dhoom 3 worked not b’coz of Aamir but just b’coz of it’s ‘ Dhoom ‘ factor and franchise . Even casting that Hrithik Roshan , Dhoom 2 was the biggest Bollywood film of 2006 and Hrithik stupid fans thought it’s b’coz of the glamour , the Hrithik’s cool stunts and action sequences , the long chased scenes in the film but it was only and only b’coz of Dhoom franchise . Salman Khan , not only the Box Office King , but also he is the Most Good Looking star in Bollywood with his good looks + the personality + the fit phsique even at the age of 48 years old . Salman’s contemporaries , like SRK , Aamir , Ranbir , Hrithik , and newbie hotties like Sidharth Malhotra and Varun Dhawan are wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy behind then Salman when it comes to good looks : Ranbir – goofy looking , Aamir – short and botoxed , SRK – unconventionally looking and not handsome , Hrithik – boring personality + 2 thumbs + voice is kinda like a horse , Sidharth Malhotra – looks more like a gay model than being a handsome looking man , Varun Dhawan – not handsome and childish personality . Salman’s looks were so famous at a point that he was even listed in the World’s Most Handsome / Good Looking Men list on 7th position by People Magazine of USA . Will SRK , Ranbir , Aamir , Hrithik ever be featured among the good looking men in the world list ????? nooooooooooooooo but only Sallu and Dharam Paaji did in their Bollywood careers with their natural good looks , and the physique . I’ve heard some people call Hrithik Roshan the most handsome Bollywood actor and a ” Greek God ” just b’coz Hrithik won the most sexy looking actor polls from magazines doesn’t mean he is the sexiest . Salman was even considered as one of the most handsome man in the world by a popular magazine but Hrithik is just considered as the Sexiest Indian guy not one of the Sexiest man in the world once . There are only 3 celebrities in Bollywood (actor / actresses) who received International recognition for their handsomeness – male , beauty – female or in short good looks from around the world : Dharmendra , Salman Khan , and Aishwarya Rai .
A die hard Salman Khan fan