Top ten Bollywood grossers of 2015
3 min read . Updated: 04 Jan 2016, 05:26 PM IST
PremiumSalman Khan ruled the roost with 'Bajrangi Bhaijaan' but there were a couple of surprise successes in the form of 'Tanu Weds Manu Returns' and 'ABCD 2'
New Delhi: The box-office verdict is out. The 10 biggest hits of 2015 have together earned ₹ 1,428.10 crore, about ₹ 180 crore less than the ₹ 1,609.49 crore garnered by the top 10 grossers of 2014.
To no one’s surprise, Salman Khan ruled the roost but there were a couple of surprise successes in the form of the woman-centric Tanu Weds Manu Returns and dance musical ABCD 2.
Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Bajirao Mastani has stolen a march over Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Dilwale and Akshay Kumar continues to silently and consistently churn out hits.
Here’s looking at the 10 Bollywood films that made the biggest numbers this year, excluding Tamil/Telugu war epic Baahubali, which was dubbed in Hindi.
1. Bajrangi Bhaijaan: The July release saw Salman Khan abandon his superstar paraphernalia to play a golden-hearted do-gooder who takes a mute Pakistani girl lost in India back home. The film, co-starring Kareena Kapoor Khan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui, recorded the second-highest opening weekend collection of the year with ₹ 102.60 crore and earned high praise for the performances of Siddiqui and child actor Harshaali Malhotra. With net collections of ₹ 320.34 crore, the Kabir Khan-directed film is the biggest hit of 2015.
2. Prem Ratan Dhan Payo: Despite mixed reviews, Sooraj Barjatya’s family drama, which also starred Salman Khan, stormed the Diwali season and registered the highest opening weekend collection of the year with ₹ 129.77 crore. The film fell short of the golden ₹ 300 crore club, but earned ₹ 207.40 crore in total.
3. Tanu Weds Manu Returns: Kangana Ranaut continued the winning spree she started with Queen last year. The Aanand L. Rai directed comedy saw her play a double role and pretty much carry the film on her shoulders despite able support from actors like R. Madhavan and Jimmy Shergill. The ₹ 30 crore budget film ended up earning ₹ 152 crore, making it the first woman-centric film to cross the ₹ 100 crore mark.
4. Bajirao Mastani: Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s labour of love found much appreciation despite the high-profile clash with Shah Rukh Khan’s Dilwale. For now, it has not just trumped the action comedy with earnings of ₹ 141 crore, but has also emerged as one of the best-loved films of the year with its stunning visuals and detailing. The film started slower than the Rohit Shetty movie, but picked up enormously in its first week.
5. Dilwale: Rohit Shetty’s multi-starrer doesn’t lag too far behind. With net box office collections of ₹ 135 crore, it has emerged as the fifth biggest hit of the year despite mixed reviews. The iconic Shah Rukh Khan-Kajol pair, together with the buzz and anticipation the film had created long before release, helped it achieve the third-highest opening weekend collections of the year with ₹ 65.09 crore.
6. ABCD 2: Disney’s efforts to establish its unique movie brand in India took a firm hold with the dance musical. With collections of ₹ 105.74 crore, the Remo D’Souza film reiterated the ability of young stars like Varun Dhawan and Shraddha Kapoor to shoulder a film and of intricate choreography to sustain audience interest over a movie’s running time.
7. Baby: Neeraj Pandey’s taut action-thriller delivered well within its genre. With box office collections of ₹ 95.50 crore, the Akshay Kumar film may not really stand out at the end of the year but close analysis reveals the actor’s penchant for picking smart and viable ventures that may not seem the most attractive to begin with.
8. Welcome Back: Anees Bazmee’s sequel to his 2007 hit may have earned him plenty of brickbats from critics, but ended up earning ₹ 94.87 crore at the box office. The Anil Kapoor, Nana Patekar and John Abraham comedy recorded the sixth-highest opening weekend of the year with ₹ 51 crore.
9. Singh Is Bliing: Directed by Prabhu Dheva, this was yet another comedy not entirely to the liking of critics. Akshay Kumar’s October release still earned ₹ 90.25 crore, and also registered the fourth-highest opening weekend collections of ₹ 54.44 crore, lagging behind Prem Ratan Dhan Payo, Bajrangi Bhaijaan and Dilwale.
10. Gabbar Is Back: Akshay Kumar rounds off the list with yet another action drama. The film directed by Krish (one name), also featuring Shruti Haasan and in a special appearance, Kareena Kapoor Khan, made ₹ 86 crore at the box office.
All figures sourced from movie website koimoi.com.
