India's most profitable film of 2026 earned 2000% profit: How a ₹2 crore film beat Dhurandhar, Awarapan 2, Toxic, Peddi
Here's the latest box office buzz making the rounds:
2026 may not have been a red-letter year for Indian cinema at the ticket-window, but it has seen some massive individual successes across languages. Be it Dhurandhar the Revenge, Jana Nayagan, or Awarapan 2 , films have broken through in various genres and across scales and budgets to script success. But none of these is the biggest hit of the year from India. That record belongs to a spiritual movie with no star, a small budget, and hardly any promotion. And yet, it has collected more than 20x its production budget.
Adding to this, A still from the biggest box-office hit from India this year. India’s most profitable movie of 2026 The devotional drama Hanuman Ansh , about the life and legacy of spiritual leader Neem Karoli Baba, is the biggest box-office hit in Indian cinema this year, earning a staggering 2000% profit and already making 21x its budget on the back of strong word-of-mouth. Written and directed by Vishal Chaturvedi, Hanuman Ansh features an ensemble cast, with Chandan Anand and Shobhinav Satyaa in the lead roles. The movie was made on a shoestring budget of ₹ 2 crore rupees and rolled out in theatres without much fanfare on August 7. It failed to gain traction initially and was written off as a box-office failure in its first week.
Meanwhile, However, Hanuman Ansh began to generate enough buzz by the second weekend to force exhibitors to increase their shows. This led to a huge surge in its collections. The movie collected just ₹ 60 lakh in its opening weekend. This figure jumped to a staggering ₹ 28 crore rupees in its fourth weekend. Hanuman Ansh has now collected over ₹ 42 crore rupees net in India and is heading towards the ₹ 50-crore rupees mark. Industry insiders say that given its pace, a ₹ 100-crore rupees lifetime run is not unfathomable. If it achieves that, it will become one of the most profitable Indian films of all time.
Notably, Hanuman Ansh currently has a 2000% profit with its ticket-window earnings. Industry insiders say this could go up to 5000% by the time the movie ends its run. In comparison, Dhurandhar 2 had a 1000% profit due to its relatively bigger budget of around ₹ 125 crore rupees. Similarly, Awarapan 2 has made a profit of around 450% over its ₹ 30-crore rupees budget with its box-office collections alone.
As per the latest buzz, The movie traces the life of Lakshman Das and how he found spiritualism, transforming into Neem Karoli Baba. It follows the spiritual leader's journey from age 13 to the point where he came to be loved and revered. The movie's writer-director is a doctor-turned-filmmaker. It is produced by Swambhu Media Network Pvt. Ltd., Ragini S., Namrata G. S., and Anupriya A. Nagar. Hanuman Ansh is currently running in theatres.
In further updates, Abhimanyu Mathur is Deputy Editor, Entertainment at Hindustan Times. With almost 15 years of experience in writing about everything from films and TV shows to cricket matches and elections, he inhales and exhales pop culture and news. Currently, he watches movies and TV shows and talks to celebrities for a living, while occasionally writing about them as well. A journalism graduate of Delhi College of Arts and Commerce, Delhi University, Abhimanyu began his career with Hindustan Times at the age of 20, swapping classrooms for newsrooms at an early age. He began his journey in the early days of digital journalism, later switching to the madness of print journalism. Work has led him to far off places like Japan and Jordan, as well as to the interiors of Haryana and the Indo-Pak border. He dabbled in city reporting in places like Meerut, Gurgaon, and Delhi, covered the Olympics and Cricket World Cups, before finding his calling in entertainment and lifestyle during the pandemic. A Rotten Tomatoes Certified Movie Critic, he is equally at home covering stories on ground as he is interviewing celebrities and studios, and sometimes prefers to shepherd teams in delivering traffic through the day. Even as his role has evolved from reporter to supervisor over the years, his first love remains writing (and of late, talking on camera). With a good understanding of cinema and its trends, and a keen eye for detail, he continues to spark conversations around showbiz for readers around the world. Read More
Source: Hindustan Times