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Ranveer Singh’s ‘Dhurandhar’ Propels India Box Office to Record $1.48 billion in 2025

Ranveer Singh’s ‘Dhurandhar’ Propels India Box Office to Record $1.48 billion in 2025

By Kevin Harson

Lifestyle

India’s theatrical market reached unprecedented heights in 2025, with gross box office collections hitting INR13,395 crore ($1.48 billion), marking the first time the territory crossed the INR13,000 crore threshold, according to Ormax Media’s annual report released Thursday. The numbers are for local Indian box office and do not include global collections.

The year’s standout performer was Aditya Dhar’s “Dhurandhar,” starring Ranveer Singh, which grossed $105.1 million to become the highest-grossing Hindi-language film of all time, surpassing 2024’s “Stree 2” ($77.2 million). The achievement underscores a remarkable resurgence for Hindi cinema, which posted its best-ever year with collections of $609 million, up 18% from 2024.

The 2025 total represents a 13% increase over the previous year’s $130.94 billion and eclipses the previous record of $135.29 billion set in 2023. Notably, 37 films crossed the INR100 crore ($11.06 million) benchmark compared to just 22 in 2024.

Hindi cinema’s recovery was driven by original Hindi-language productions, which accounted for 93% of the segment’s collections. Dependence on dubbed South Indian films plummeted from 31% in 2024 to just 7% in 2025, with original Hindi films posting a 59% year-over-year increase.

Three films surpassed the INR500 crore ($55.3 million) mark: “Dhurandhar,” “Kantara A Legend: Chapter-1” at $80.1 million, and “Chhaava” with $76.6 million. “Saiyaara,” “Coolie” and animated title “Mahavatar Narsimha” each grossed above INR300 crore ($33.1 million).

International releases experienced a resurgent year with 49% growth, reaching $155.2 million to post the highest-grossing year since the pandemic and the second-best performance of all time after 2019. “Avatar: Fire and Ash” led the category with $26.4 million, though it underperformed compared to its predecessor.

The market’s growth was fueled by rising ticket prices rather than increased attendance. The average ticket price (ATP) recorded its sharpest increase in four years, climbing 20% from INR134 ($1.48) to INR161 ($1.78). The ATP surge was driven by a higher box office share from Hindi and international releases, which commanded premium pricing, along with elevated ticket prices for tentpole South Indian films during premiere shows and opening weeks.

Conversely, footfalls declined 6% to 83.2 crore (832 million), underscoring the market’s continued dependence on ATP growth rather than audience expansion.

Among regional industries, Gujarati-language cinema posted explosive 189% growth, jumping from $9.2 million in 2024 to $26.7 million, driven by “Laalo: Krishna Sada Sahaayate,” which grossed $12.6 million to become the highest-grossing Gujarati film of all time.

Kannada-language cinema rebounded with 73% growth to $58.4 million, led by “Kantara A Legend: Chapter-1,” which contributed $26.3 million in its Kannada version alone.

South Indian languages saw mixed results. Telugu remained steady at $263 million, up just 1%, while Tamil dipped 1% to $199.7 million. Malayalam maintained its 2024 levels at $128.8 million, confirming 2024 as a watershed year for the industry. The combined share of four South Indian languages decreased from 48% in 2024 to 44% in 2025, with only Kannada showing significant growth among the group.

Punjabi and Marathi-language cinemas experienced significant contractions. Punjabi collections plunged 43% to $12.8 million, while Marathi fell 46% to $10.6 million. Bengali cinema posted modest but steady growth, rising 17% to $88.5 million.

Re-releases contributed 1.5% of Hindi box office, led by “Sanam Teri Kasam” at $4.4 million. The Assamese film “Roi Roi Binale” grossed $4.6 million, single-handedly driving 131% growth for the “Others” category.

India’s Top 10 Films of 2025 (All Languages Combined)

  1. “Dhurandhar” – $105.1 million
  2. “Kantara A Legend: Chapter-1” – $80.1 million
  3. “Chhaava” – $76.6 million
  4. “Saiyaara” – $43.8 million
  5. “Coolie” – $35.9 million
  6. “Mahavatar Narsimha” – $33.3 million
  7. “War 2” – $31.3 million
  8. “Avatar: Fire and Ash” – $26.4 million
  9. “They Call Him OG” – $24.7 million
  10. “Sankranthiki Vasthunam” – $24.5 million

Originally published by variety.com. Syndicated material does not necessarily reflect the views of Grazia British.

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