Since Baahubali 2 earned Rs 1,000 crore, Indian cinema has chased massive budgets. While big films like Toxic got huge openings, smaller hits like Bethlehem Kudumba Unit showed that word-of-mouth matters. As 2026 ends, Ramayana: Part 1 and King hope to top the charts, proving success is often about more than money.
In the decade since SS Rajamouli's Baahubali 2: The Conclusion became the first Indian film to earn over Rs 1,000 crore at the global box office, that number has become something of a paradox: Visible to the extent that it is now the ceiling that every ambitious filmmaker hopes they will breach, but large enough that it is still something of an abstraction. What, after all, does Rs 1,000 crore even mean in an industry that spins a tale long enough that most people stop expecting any actual, measurable figures? Success is as success is narrated.
Not that the recent blockbuster history of India is all myth and little matter. Films like Baahubali, Pushpa, KGF and RRR have made money hand over fist, cementing a new appreciation of an old saw: The bigger the better. The formula for success has essentially been reduced to massive budgets, large scale (preferably with lots of action sequences and highly kinetic camerawork) and, as far as possible, a multistar cast that draws from across Indian languages. This year, Dhurandhar 2: The Revenge was that record-breaking juggernaut, drawing audiences to theatres for multiple viewings on the strength of a solid, hugely popular prequel.
As 2026 draws to a close, two more massive films will hope to top its earnings. Ramayana: Part 1, which opens on November 5 is reportedly the most expensive Indian film ever made, with the cost of both parts coming to about Rs 4,000 crore (including the promotion for a global release). Seven weeks later, on Christmas Eve, Shah Rukh Khan returns in King, reportedly made for Rs 350 crore and already sold overseas for a record Rs 175 crore guarantee.
But numbers -- whether fact, fiction or a mix of both -- are only part of the story. Consider two films that opened in the same week of August. Yash's Toxic is among the most expensive Indian films ever made, with a budget estimated at anywhere from Rs 500 crore to Rs 1,000 crore. It opened with the year's biggest advance bookings and faltered within a week. On the other hand, Bethlehem Kudumba Unit, a Malayalam romantic comedy by Girish AD, made for around Rs 25-30 crore, had a modest opening. Excellent word-of-mouth ensured that on its second Friday, the film earned nearly twice what it did on the first day.
Both films have earned roughly Rs 330-340 crore worldwide. Toxic was not the only big budget disappointment of the year. The year began with the floundering of The Raja Saab, starring Baahubali's Prabhas. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay's farewell project, Jana Nayagan, broke opening-day records and just about broke even. Even Ram Charan's Peddi, which did well in the Telugu market, failed to make the larger intended splash. The films that did work at the top were sequels to films that audiences already loved: Dhurandhar 2: The Revenge, Jailer 2, Drishyam: The Conclusion. Dhurandhar alone appears to have accounted for nearly a fifth of India's box office in the first half of the year.
But the success of Bethlehem Kudumba Unit speaks to a real gap: The sensible budget film that can find an audience simply by being good. In Hindi cinema, the space for that kind of film -- the well-made, middle-of-the-road or slice-of-life film with no big star but a great plot and strong writing -- has largely collapsed. It holds on in other languages, even if it is increasingly constricted by the changing economics of filmmaking. This year, for the first time, three Malayalam films, including Vaazha II -- a coming-of-age comedy with no superstar lead -- have each crossed Rs 200 crore worldwide. In Marathi, Deool Band 2, a devotional comedy made for around Rs 10 crore, reportedly earned a 550 per cent profit.
A look at the other great film producing nation, the US, shows what a full, healthy range can look like. Hollywood's biggest film, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, is a franchise giant at nearly $ 2.5 billion. But the year was really carried by films of every size, from Obsession, a horror film made for under $1 million that became a runaway global hit earning $500 million to Backrooms which was made for $10 million and made over $ 400 million worldwide.
The stakes are higher because audiences are returning. According to Ormax Media's India Box Office Report for the first half of the year, the January to June earnings were Rs 6,398 crore -- a rise of 10 per cent on last year. More importantly, footfalls rose five per cent, ending three years of decline and stagnation. Those viewers were drawn to different kinds of films. To respond only, or largely, with big-budget spectacle cinema would be to bet against the mood.
Perhaps Ramayana and King will break records. But the lessons of the year would still stand, encapsulated in the box office journeys of the most unexpected hits, and flops, of the year.
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