Top Bollywood Actors Overseas – September 2014

The analysis of the top stars in the overseas markets is finally live. The market that Shahrukh Khan has dominated for more than a decade, finally has a worthy contender to challenge him for the top spot.

Post the worldwide success of 3 Idiots, Aamir Khan has not just been challenging SRK but consistently breaking his records. Currently, Aamir holds the records for two of the highest overseas grossers in history – Dhoom 3 ($30.75 million) and 3 Idiots ($25.9 million).

As things stand today, the battle between Aamir and Shahrukh is too close to call, but the latter takes the top spot. The two superstars have two big releases this year, Happy New Year and PK.

• 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 Shahrukh Khan: An actor who has dominated the overseas markets for close to 20 years continues to be the top superstar internationally. However, the battle between him and Aamir is getting closer with every release. Will Shahrukh continue to reign supreme after Happy New Year? Only time will tell, but the superstar is going all out to promote his film with international tours. Come Diwali, Happy New Year would have to collect a minimum of $22.35 million if SRK has to retain the top spot.

• Chennai Express – $18.8 million
• Jab Tak Hai Jaan – $13.25 million
• Don 2 – $11.25 million
• Ra. One – $10.9 million
• My Name Is Khan – $22.98 million
• Total – $77.18 million (average $15.44 million per film)

Rank 2 Aamir Khan: Has established himself in the overseas markets after the release of 3 Idiots. He is the numero uno star in China, what with both Dhoom 3 and 3 Idiots doing very well. PK is one of the most awaited films overseas and has the potential to break the records set by Dhoom 3.

• Dhoom 3 – $30.75 million (including first week collections from China)
• Talaash – $8.95 million
• 3 Idiots – $25.9 million
• Ghajini – $7.75 million
• Taare Zameen Par – $3.20 million
• Total – $76.55 million (average $15.31 million per film)

Rank 3 Salman Khan: The biggest star in India is at number three overseas and lags way behind Aamir and Shahrukh. However, Salman is way ahead of all other actors. 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.

• 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 poor performance of Guzaarish and Kites has hurt him, but Hrithik movies have always performed consistently well in the overseas markets. Krrish 3 is his highest grosser followed by Dhoom 2, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Ghum and Jodhaa Akbar. Even if Bang Bang does very well, he has no chance of beating the top 3 Khans as his average is way too low at the moment.

• Krrish 3 – $8.78 million
• Agneepath – $6.1 million
• Zindagi Naa Milegi Dobara – $7.21 million
• Guzaarish – $3.22 million
• Kites – $4.51 million
• Total – $29.82 million (average $5.96 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: Surprise, surprise! Saif Ali Khan with two solid performers in Race 2 and Cocktail is ahead of Ajay Devgn and Akshay Kumar in the overseas markets. Race 2 was a massive hit last year, Humshakals has under-performed.. but Saif seems to have quite a good following overseas. Love Aaj Kal did very well too collecting $6.4 million.

• Humshakals - $2.65 million
• Bullet Raja- $1 million
• Race 2 - $6.4 million
• Cocktail - $4.3 million
• Agent Vinod - $1.4 million
• Total – $15.75 million (average $3.15 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.

• Singham Returns – 4.5 million (expected)
• 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 – 2.75 million (expected)
• 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)

The battle is not quite as close or interesting as the domestic market. But Happy New Year vs PK is something to watch out for. It’ll also be interesting to see if Bang Bang can beat Kick and Ek Tha Tiger. If it does, it’ll be Hrithik’s highest grosser too. Ranbir and Salman have no release this year, Saif has Happy Ending while Ajay has Action Jackson. Akshay has an interesting line-up of upcoming films, he could even make it to the Top 5 as he has a fairly good following.

Check out the graphs below and post your thoughts in the comments section below. The worldwide ranking will be out soon. Check the ‘related’ section below for the Top 15 India ranking of Bollywood stars.