From Dhurandhar to Lokah Chapter 1, 2025 was the year of blockbusters

Indian cinema delivered a string of box office blockbusters in 2025, with films such as Dhurandhar, Kantara Chapter 1, and Lokah Chapter One posting massive collections

Indian movies left an indelible mark on the box office in 2025 with action blockbusters, historical epics, romantic dramas, animated movies, etc grossing in crores across Bollywood, south Indian, and regional industries. The year highlighted the diversity and scale of Indian filmmaking. Here’s a look back at some of the highest-grossing movies of the year.

 

Dhurandhar, headlined by Ranveer Singh, emerged as one of the year’s biggest hits. Directed by Aditya Dhar of Uri The Surgical Strike fame, the film released on December 5 and features Sanjay Dutt, Akshaye Khanna, Arjun Rampal, Sara Arjun, R Madhavan, and Rakesh Bedi. Dhurandhar grossed around ₹28 crore on Day 1 domestically. By day 22, it had amassed ₹648.5 crore in India and crossed the ₹1,000 crore-mark worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing Indian film of 2025 and surpassing the lifetime collections of Animal and Stree 2.

 

 

In the South Indian space, Kantara: A Legend Chapter-1 became a blockbuster. Directed by lead actor Rishab Shetty, the Kannada-language action epic released on Diwali. Produced under Hombale Films, it earned ₹622.5 crore in India and ₹853.4 crore worldwide. The prequel to the 2022 film Kantara explores the origins of the conflict between the Kantara tribe and the Bangara kingdom, featuring Gulshan Devaiah, Jayaram, and Rukmini Vasanth alongside Shetty.

 

Vicky Kaushal’s historical action epic Chhaava, based on the life of Maratha ruler Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, stood out as one of the highest-grossing Bollywood films of 2025. Released in February and directed by Laxman Utekar, the film was produced by Dinesh Vijan under Maddock Films with a budget of around ₹120–150 crore. It collected ₹604.1 crore net domestically and ₹808.7 crore worldwide. The movie starred Rashmika Mandanna, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Ashutosh Rana, and Divya Dutta in key roles.

 

July saw the success of the romantic drama Saiyaara, marking the debut of Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda. Directed by Mohit Suri and produced by Yash Raj Films on a modest budget of ₹50–60 crore, the film earned ₹337 crore net domestically and ₹575.8 crore globally. Saiyaara follows the love story of musician Krish Kapoor and writer Vaani Batra, gaining immense popularity for its music, particularly the title track, which crossed 500 million views on YouTube.

 

Rajinikanth and Nagarjuna Akkineni’s Tamil action thriller Coolie, directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj and produced under Sun Pictures, emerged as one of South India’s top grossers. Made on a budget of around ₹350 crore, the film collected approximately ₹260–285 crore net domestically and ₹516–518 crore worldwide. The story follows Deva, a former union leader drawn into gold smuggling, with music by Anirudh Ravichander and cinematography by Girish Gangadharan.

 

Pan-India action collaboration War 2, directed by Ayan Mukerji, brought Hrithik Roshan and Jr NTR together on screen, with Kiara Advani, Anil Kapoor, Ashutosh Rana, and Bobby Deol in supporting roles. Made with a budget of ₹350–400 crore, the sequel to the 2019 hit War collected ₹240.5 crore net domestically and around ₹360–400 crore worldwide, ranking among the top releases before being overtaken by later films. 

 

Ashwin Kumar’s animated epic Mahavatar Narsimha became 2025’s highest-grossing animated film in India. Part of the Mahavatar Cinematic Universe, it retells the story of Lord Vishnu’s fourth incarnation, Narasimha. The film earned ₹250.29 crore net in India and ₹325.74 crore worldwide, with the Hindi version contributing ₹187.69 crore.

 

Malayalam cinema witnessed a landmark release with Lokah Chapter One: Chandra, starring Kalyani Priyadarshan. Directed by Dominic Arun and produced by Dulquer Salmaan on a reported ₹30 crore budget, the superhero action fantasy earned ₹303.86 crore worldwide. The film follows Chandra, a woman drawn into supernatural challenges while discovering her powers, and is currently streaming on JioHotstar. 

 

In Telugu cinema, They Call Him OG starred Pawan Kalyan as a samurai-trained gangster returning to Mumbai to reclaim his empire, with Emraan Hashmi as his rival. Produced on an estimated ₹200–250 crore budget, the film opened with a ₹155 crore worldwide first-day collection and concluded with a global gross of ₹295.22 crore.

 

Finally, Sitaare Zameen Par, directed by RS Prasanna and produced by Aamir Khan Productions, showcased Aamir Khan as a basketball coach training neurodivergent adults. The film marked the debut of ten actors, including Aroush Datta and Aneet Padda, and collected ₹268.1 crore worldwide with a domestic net of ₹166.8 crore.