Updated list of Top 15 Actors in Bollywood as of January 2016, after the release of Bajirao Mastani and Dilwale. There are some big changes in the ranking this time around and the younger stars have slowly but steadily begun to challenge stars outside the Top 4. There could be a serious shift in the next couple of years, because the younger actors have youth appeal which is increasing footfalls at multiplexes.
The ranking system will also be divided into three; Top Actor in India, Overseas and Worldwide. The list below is for the Top 15 Actors in India i.e the domestic market only.
- The list would be based on the net box office collections of an actor’s last five movies. For younger actors, the minimum number of films is 3.
- Only lead roles would be considered. Cameos, special appearances and guest appearances won’t be taken under consideration.
- Dated movies that released before 2007 have not been considered.
- Only domestic box office collections is being taken into account. Collections from all regional versions have been taken into considering as this list is for the top actors in India and regional language releases affect Hindi business in their respective states. For example, Tamil version will affect business of Hindi version in Tamilnadu / Kerala circuit.
Top Actors In Bollywood 2015
Rank 1 Aamir Khan: The combined collections of Aamir Khan’s last 5 films has crossed the 1000 crore mark, the first actor ever to do so. He has maintained a staggering 200 crore plus average for the last 5 films, even though Talaash under-performed at the box office. There is very little to choose between the Top 2 actors in the industry today, with both equally deserving to top the ranking.
- PK – 341 cr
- Dhoom 3 - 285 cr
- Talaash - 93 cr
- 3 Idiots - 202 cr
- Ghajini - 116 cr
- Next film - Dangal (also read: Aamir Khan’s Upcoming Movies List)
- Total - 1037 crore (Average per film: 207.4 cr)
Rank 2 Salman Khan: The megastar has become the second actor whose last films have collected Rs 1000 crore or more at the domestic box office. Like Aamir, Salman also averages 200 crore or more per film. Sultan would have to collect Rs 159 crore or more, for him to top the ranking once again. With a solo release, Salman topping the ranking would have been a certainty, but with Raees also scheduled to release on the same day, it remains to be seen how well the two films perform.
- Prem Ratan Dhan Payo – 213 cr
- Bajrangi Bhaijaan – 321 cr
- Kick - 233 cr
- Jai Ho - 112 cr
- Dabangg 2 - 154 cr
- Next film – Sultan (also read: Salman Khan’s Upcoming Movies List)
- Total – 1033 crore (Average per film: 206.6 cr)
Rank 3. Shah Rukh Khan was ranked at No 2 before the release of Happy New Year, he has now come down to the 3rd spot in the domestic (India) ranking. For Shahrukh to beat Aamir, Fan would have to collect Rs 336 crore in India. If both Fan and Raees, which are touted to his return to ‘content-driven’ films, perform well, Shah Rukh could challenge Aamir Khan. The combined collections of Fan and Raees has to be Rs 457 crore or more i.e both films have to cross the 200 crore mark, or one has to do 300 crore plus business. Shah Rukh has probably been a little unlucky too, Dilwale and Jab Tak Hai Jaan both clashed with big films. Chennai Express was also affected to a certain extent by the release of Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai Dobaara on its 7th day. Only Don 2 and Happy New Year had a free and open run. For Shah Rukh, it would be about releasing one good film at the right time.
- Dilwale – 150 cr
- Happy New Year – 204 cr
- Chennai Express - 227 crore
- Jab Tak Hai Jaan - 121 cr
- Don 2 - 112 cr
- Next film – Fan (also read: Shahrukh Khan’s Upcoming Movies List)
- Total – 814 crore (Average per film: 162.8 cr)
Rank 4 Hrithik Roshan. The release of Bang Bang temporarily took Hrithik ahead of SRK at the domestic box office, but before Bang Bang finished its run, Happy New Year had already released in theatres. Hrithik’s average of 134 cr is fantastic, comparable to the Khans even though he doesn’t always get to release his films during Eid, Diwali or Christmas. To elaborate a little more on this, out of the last 5 films, all SRK films have released during one of the three festivals, except Jai Ho all Salman films have released during the three most lucrative periods in the industry and Aamir Khan too has preferred to release his films during Christmas (all except Talaash). Hrithik got just one Diwali release for Krrish 3 and made the most of it. His next release is Ashutosh Gowariker’s Mohenjo Daro (August 2016) and Sanjay Gupta’s Kaabil could also release later this year. Till then, Hrithik will hold on the 4th spot. Mohenjo Daro releases after Sultan, Fan and Raees, so calculations as to how much it needs to collect, cannot be made at this point in time. He can beat Aamir though and for that, Mohenjo Daro has to collect Rs 398 crore or more!!
- Bang Bang – 181 cr
- Krrish 3 - 244 cr
- Agneepath - 122 cr
- Zindagi Naa Milegi Dobara - 93 cr
- Guzaarish - 32 cr
- Next film – Mohenjo Daro (also read: Hrithik Roshan’s Upcoming Movies List)
- Total - 672 cr (Average per film: 134.4 cr)
Rank 5 Ranveer Singh: How big is this? One film called Bajirao Mastani has changed Ranveer Singh’s life. From a career that appeared to be faltering after the release of Kill Dil, Ranveer has risen from Rank 10 to the Top 5, not only beating stalwarts like Akshay Kumar and Ajay Devgn, but also overtaking Varun Dhawan. His next film is a biggie too, Aditya Chopra’s Befikre. Ranveer is also the youngest star to make it to the Top 5, probably the first after Hrithik Roshan.
- Bajirao Mastani – 175 cr (expected)
- Dil Dhadakne Do – 77 cr
- Kill Dil – 32 cr
- Gunday – 78 cr
- Ram Leela - 115 cr
- Next film - Befikre (also read: Ranveer Singh’s Upcoming Movies List)
- Total Collections – 477 cr (Average per film: 95.4 cr)
Rank 6 Varun Dhawan: Another young actor who is not only appearing in 2-3 movies every year, but has made a name for himself in just 3 years. The trade loves him too - all his films have opened well at the box office, none have failed and his solo-lead film ABCD 2 was his first 100 crore grosser. What we like about Varun is his choice of films and the effort that he puts into it, right from the pre-production stage to marketing, he puts in a lot of effort. And hard work so far, has not gone unrewarded.
- Dilwale – 150 crore (expected)
- ABCD 2 – 105 cr
- Badlapur – 52 cr
- Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania – 77 cr
- Main Tera Hero - 54 cr
- Next film – Dishoom (also read: Varun Dhawan’s Upcoming Movies List)
- Total Collections – 438 cr (Average per film: 87.6 cr)
Rank 7 Ranbir Kapoor: His career was at an all-time high after the success of films like ‘Rockstar’, ‘Barfi’ and ‘Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani’, but the last couple of years have been disastrous for Ranbir Kapoor as ‘Besharam’ tanked after a good opening day and ‘Bombay Velvet’ couldn’t even manage a face-saving opening at the box office. Tamasha looked like a winner because it was an Imtiaz Ali film starring Deepika Padukone as the female lead, even that has failed. Nothing seems to be working for Ranbir. His next release is Jagga Jasoos, a much-delayed film that he has co-produced. The big question is, will it release before ‘Ae Dil Hai Mushkil’? Will the Karan Johar film, which is scheduled to release with ‘Shivaay’ during Diwali, give him his much-needed hit?
- Tamasha – 62 crore
- Bombay Velvet – 24 crore
- Besharam - 57 crore
- Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani - 188 crore
- Barfi! - 106 cr
- Next film – Jagga Jasoos (also read: Ranbir Kapoor’s Upcoming Movies List)
- Total - 437 cr (Average per film: 87.4 cr)
Rank 8 Akshay Kumar: It’s been a disappointing 2015 for Akshay Kumar and the ranking reflects that; a drop from No 5 to No 8. Almost all his films looked promising, but not a single film has performed beyond expectations. All his films were expected to be 100 crore grossers, especially Brothers, but the Dharma Productions’ film was his lowest grosser of 2015. One film was profitable, two just about recovered costs and one was a massive failure. Not good enough when the younger actors are now delivering 100 crore grossers. The multiplexes, which generate 80-85% of business for most films, is where his films have been under-performing. He has a big line-up for 2016 too and most of his films look promising; Airlift, Housefull 3, Rustom and Namaste England. Will those films get him a Top 5 spot? Atleast two of them have to be 100 crore grossers plus. Housefull 3 is his best chance, it has to gross big (150 crore plus).
- Singh Is Bling – 88 crore
- Brothers – 83 crore
- Gabbar Is Back – 86 crore
- Baby – 96 crore
- Entertainment – 72 cr
- Next film – Airlift (also read: Akshay Kumar’s Upcoming Movies List)
- Total Collections: 425 cr (Average per film: 85 cr)
Rank 9 Ajay Devgn: Drishyam did fairly well at the box office, but business was affected by Bajrangi Bhaijaan and Baahubali. When the film was gaining momentum, Brothers released and made a huge dent on the business of Drishyam. It would have probably collected a lot more than it did, had the release been timed better. 3 of his last 5 films have failed, Singham Returns was his biggest grosser. He has big films in the form of Shivaay, Baadshaho and Sons Of Sardaar in the next 2 years. Ajay is making a shift from medium budget to big budget films, if it clicks, he has every chance of making it to the Top 5.
- Drishyam – 73 cr
- Action Jackson – 57 cr
- Singham Returns - 140 cr
- Satyagraha – 58 cr
- Himmatwala - 46 cr
- Next film – Shivaay (also read: Ajay Devgn’s Upcoming Movies List)
- Total: 374 cr (Average per film: 74.8 cr)
Rank 10 Sidharth Malhotra: There is very little to choose between Sidharth and Ajay at this point in time. But the failure of ‘Brothers’ has hurt Sidharth Malhotra. He has Dharma’s ‘Kapoor and Sons’ lined up for release in March this year.
- Brothers – 83 cr
- Ek Villain - 103 cr
- Hasee Toh Phasee - 35 cr
- Student Of The Year - 70 cr
- Next film - Kapoor and Sons (also read: Sidharth Malhotra’s Upcoming Movies List)
- Total Collections – 291 cr (Average per film: 72.75 cr)
Rank 11 Farhan Akhtar: His popularity with the multiplex audience in cities is under-rated. His solo film ‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag’ not only took a good opening at the box office, but went on to collect more than Rs 100 crore. It also won Farhan his first Filmfare Best Actor award.
- Shaadi Ke Side Effects – 38 cr
- Bhaag Milkha Bhaag – 104 cr
- Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara – 93 cr
- Karthik Calling Karthik - 27 cr
- Next Film - Wazir
- Total Collections – 262 cr (Average per film: 65.5 cr)
Rank 12 Arjun Kapoor: The poor performance of Tevar has resulted in Arjun Kapoor dropping one spot down the list to No 13. His next film is ‘Ki and Ka’, also starring Kareena Kapoor. Reports for the R Balki film are good.
- Tevar – 40 cr
- Finding Fanny – 36 cr
- 2 States - 102 cr
- Gunday - 78 cr
- Aurangzeb - 23 cr
- Next film - Ki and Ka (also read: Arjun Kapoor’s Upcoming Movies List)
- Total Collections – 279 cr (Average per film: 55.8 cr)
Rank 13 Saif Ali Khan: Phantom didn’t work even though it was directed by Kabir Khan and Happy Ending was one of the biggest disasters of 2014. Saif is currently going through the worst phase of his career.
- Phantom – 53 cr
- Happy Ending – 22 cr
- Humshakals - 63 cr
- Bullet Raja- 36 cr
- Race 2 - 102 cr
- Next film – Rangoon (also read: Saif Ali Khan’s Upcoming Movies List)
- Total - 276 cr (Average per film: 55.2 cr)
Rank 14 Shahid Kapoor: Just when Shahid Kapoor’s career was taking a upward turn with films like R.. Rajkumar and Haider, his much-awaited film ‘Shaandaar’ turned out to be one of the biggest disappointments of 2015. It opened well, but wrapped up with lifetime collections of less than 45 crore. With the trade losing both hope and patience in a extremely talented actor like Shahid, he awaits the release of Udta Punjab. What does he need to do, to get that one film that will turn things around for him? A film like Bajirao Mastani or even a ABCD 2, for example. He doesn’t lack in the talent department, but actors who made their debuts nearly a decade after him, have raced past him in no time at all.
- Shaandaar – 43 cr
- Haider – 58 cr
- R.. Rajkumar - 65 cr
- Phata Poster Nikhla Hero - 39 cr
- Teri Meri Kahaani - 29 cr
- Next film - Udta Punjab (also read: Shahid Kapoor’s Upcoming Movies List)
- Total Collections – 234 cr (Average per film: 46.8 cr)
Rank 15 Emraan Hashmi: Emraan’s career is at an all-time low. None of his last 5 films have even managed to cross the 40 crore mark. The genre that seems to be working today is biopics and Emraan will be seen in a film based on controversial cricketer Mohammad Azharuddin.
- Hamari Adhuri Kahani – 38 cr
- Mr X – 25 cr
- Ungli – 21 cr
- Raja Natwarlal – 27 cr
- Ghanchakkar - 39 cr
- Next film - Azhar biopic (also read: Emraan Hashmi’s Upcoming Movies List)
- Total collections – 150 cr (Average per film: 30 cr)
“Aamir rejected 200 scripts for Dangal. It’ll be his most memorable film ever”. Ashish Patnik, Aamir Khan Productions(CFO)
“Just read a gist of Dangal’s script. A super-duper blockbuster on cards next Christmas!”- Komal Nahta
“Dangal has Raju Hirani type dialogues and moments”- Aamir Khan himself.
Those spreading negativity unnecessarily towards Dangal would be first to book their tickets on Weekend 1.
I wlll watch Dangal 10 times alongwith whole of India.
Love you AK. ?????- Sanchit, a die hard fan of yours from Gwalior.
What is surprising is that Aamir’s last movie in this chart is 8 Year old Ghajini.
This makes his acheivement at the top too much mindblowing. ???
Salman inches away from the rank 1
SRK’s no.3 spot will be in trouble coz Guzaarish(32crs) won’t be considered in the next update!!
Indicine team, can u plz ans my question abt John Abraham?
FAN is gonna be treat for all movie lovers, for me I’m sure it has to be the best movie we have seen in a long time.
I don’t want to quote any box office figures but if it clicks, the collections would be humongous.
#Kaali
Salman rules next year with sultan and rank 1 for only for him
@babaji you seem to be more worried about SRK rather than your fav actors (dunno who they are), Guzarish will be eliminated for Hrithik and so will be Don 2 & Jab Tak Hai Jaan for SRK and FAN & Raees replacing them will definitely be bigger grossers than the former movies.
#Kaali
@indicine : One suggestion
You should create this list based on the real value openings.
Because actors doing less films are in advantage like aamir,HR whereas salman,akshay(having more than 1 releases) suffer
@Beingaban and @Abhay, it is very difficult to give ‘real values’ to opening. Because there are so many factors. Holiday, non-holiday, partial holiday, Pre Eid etc etc. This formula is straight to the point. Bigger actors, get bigger holidays. They earn it because of their stardom, which helps their movies to collect more at the box office. If they do good films that is liked by the public, they’ll collect big (PK, CE, Bajrangi, Bajirao) and their ranking goes up.
It’s based on lifetime collections that actors earn their fee and investors invest in their films. For example, 20 crore opening of Besharam might earn Ranbir a higher ranking, but his poor choice of film, has resulted in losses for all involved. His standing in the industry doesn’t go up because of a huge opening, but comes down because the film has failed.
We think this is one of the best ways to rank actors. We could tweak this a bit by including only the last 3 films or removing very old films (Ghajini for example), but then there will be a lot of arguments.
@sultan bhushan Bhajipao .. Papa Boy’s Mohenjodaro will be even more disastrous than Guzaarish.
Mohenjodaro lifetime – 69 cr.
Mohenjodaro’s content will be worse than Krrish 3’s cartoon like characters.
#Kaali
@babaji : what if BB clashed with bm?
IFs and BUTs dont work
No one would dare to clash with aamir and salman bcoz if they have prdp & talash they have bb and pk too.
No one can dare to challenge them
The article is about 10 different actors yet these nuts are discussing SRK the most, you keep making him famous.
You keep hating, he keeps ruling.
#Kaali
KING will return to the top in 2016.
@ thullu – if a player scores well for zimbabwe he is man of the match even if they lost to australia same apply for salman vs aamir.
if starpower can bring audience to only first day / weekend then why to consider lifetime collection ?
Indicine not considering till 2007 movies as srk is considered no1 till 2007
Then 2008 aamir came into picture with ghajini
2010 salman came with dabang
2011 hrithik with agneepath
2016 will only belong to aamir khan. He will rule and conquer 2016 with dangal and dangal will surely be biggest blockbuster ever beating pk record. He will jeep remaining on top.
Ranveer and Varun ahead of Akki and Ajay.. time to leave the planet..
Dilwale would have collected 250 crore if it had been solo release.. the ranking will definitely change after Fan and Raees!
waiting for overseas ranking .
1. Aamir
2. Srk
3. Salman
4. Varun
5. Hrithik
6. Ranveer
2015 was very very disappointing year for me.. I had a lot of expectations from Dilwale but it badly disappointed!
Very good and correct article ??
Nawaabi notes:
Honestly after Mangal pandey and RDB (to an extent) I started feeling that Aamir’s acting was getting worse with his age. Even TZP and 3 Idiots didn’t calm my anxiety (I may be one of the rare few who didn’t like 3I). Ghajini was a superb movie but acting was so-so. Mind you he still was the best among the Khans and many others in acting. But still that spark was missing.
Then came Talaash and while the movie was good (some scenes were unnecessary), Aamir’s performance completely bamboozled me. It left me speechless. I mean the way his eyes emoted in certain scenes and his mannerisms and body language left me speechless. You could literally feel the pain the character was going through. 10/10 in terms of Aamir’s acting.
And finally PK made me relax and happily accept the fact that all my apprehensions about his acting prowess on the wane were unfounded.
I now know that Dangal will be another masterclass in acting by Aamir the ACTOR. Box office be damned even though Dangal will most likely be the biggest grosser of this year and may cross PK.
But seriously all these numbers make little sense to Aamir fans like me who know that he is now competing only with himself.
Akki fans send ur addresses I have bought
Bundles of tissues for u ?
especially babuji ki thullu ?
ajay rocks too lol
Krrish3 244cr ?
@indicine:
According to producers’….
1. Dabang 2- 158cr (u hv posted 154cr).
2. Kick – 234cr (u hv posted 233cr).
3. Jai ho- 113cr (not 112cr).
Please correct if possible…
Aamir can only be compared on the level of box office performance and even there he tops.. when it comes to quality of films and performance, he is way ahead of everyone in the industry.
Rare combination of stardom and good films. Deadly combination at BO.
Overseas ranking
Srk
Aamir
Salman cause of BB
@ indicine
5 film formula is perfect.
3 film is vry short fr akki its less thn a yr. so u cnt say its a real STARDOM for jst 3 films.
more thn 5 films is also nt fine as amir n hritik took 6-7 yrs for 5 films.
then comparing old collections with today box office nt perfct
THIS METHOD IS BEST. AGREE.
can u tell us approximate percentage of pre eid effect on opening day collections.
@babaji, No one know about PRDP good or bad movie before release. So all filmmakers scared especially Sooraj reunion with Salman after 15 years. So @babaji don’t be over react.
u believe or not but this is real ranking. 1- Salman 2-SRK 3-Aamir 4-Akki 5- Hrithik.. its not always box office. overall love for superstar. and their all past films.. Earlier SRK was loved most but now Salman fan following is massive. most loved superstar.. SRK films not doing that well now but still he is loved by people in whole country .. But Aamir following is also massive but he is little less loved as compared to Sally and SRK.. Even Dilwale not doing well,Raees will still challenge Sultan. if Fan even does above 200 crore. Sultan will be in trouble. but looking at current situation Sultan will lead… but never underestimate a Ghayal SHER.
@SG, this ranking is not to measure the love that fans have for their stars. Amitabh Bachchan and even actors like Sunny Deol and Govinda, command huge amount of love from their fan base. Salman wasn’t doing well in the last decade, but he was still loved. When he did the right films, people came.
This ranking is ONLY about current standing of these stars in the trade.
@Babaji look at the star cast of prdp, except bhai all are flopy, in case of director suraj was returning after 16 years & the audience genre is changing rapidly, & even in reviews all reviewed it for family only u can’t watch with ur friends & strictly not for youngsters but in case of dilwale firstly it was a multistarrer, best holiday period, commercial director of today’s generation, all are supremely successful (varun, kriti, kajol) doesn’t matter solo I’m saying it srk has no guts to cast such floppy in his movie to revive their career what bhai has done, even he is degrading their golden career don’t dare to say this even if gobar have done with the star cast of prdp 10 cr would be too difficult to achieve
Ww ranking
Srk
Aamir
Salman