India's highest-grosser of 2025: Only film to cross ₹250 cr mark so far, ran 50+ days with 24-hour shows in theatres

Mint

20-07-2025

2025 began with chatter around a dull phase for the Indian film industry, as several star-studded films featuring the likes of Salman Khan, Kamal Haasan, Ram Charan, Kangana Ranaut, and Shahid Kapoor failed to pull audiences to theatres. However, defying those predictions, a new report reveals that the Indian box office collected a staggering ₹ 5,723 crore in the first half of 2025, marking a 14% year-on-year growth.
While several underdog films emerged as surprise hits at the ticket window, one film stands out as the highest-grossing Indian film of the year so far — Chhaava.
This film, despite being mired in controversy, continued its theatrical run for nearly two months. Its success was so massive that the Hindi film was eventually dubbed and released in Telugu as well. It also had 24-hour running shows owing to its demand among the audience.
India's highest-grosser of 2025 so far is Chhaava.
Chhaava stars Vicky Kaushal in the lead as Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj. It also features Rashmika Mandanna and Akshaye Khanna. The film is based on the life of Sambhaji Maharaj, the second ruler of the Maratha Empire.
According to the latest India Box Office Report: Jan–Jun 2025 by Ormax Media, Chhaava emerged as the winner of this year at the box office, earning ₹ 693 crore.
In total, 17 films crossed the ₹ 100 crore mark at the Indian box office between January and June this year. However, Chhaava is the only film to cross the ₹ 250 crore mark within the timeline.
Coming in next on the list is the Telugu-language film Sankranthiki Vasthunam, headlined by Daggubati Venkatesh, which recorded impressive nationwide earnings of ₹ 222 crore.
Sitaare Zameen Par ( ₹ 201 crore)
Housefull 5 ( ₹ 200 crore)
Good Bad Ugly ( ₹ 183 crore)
Game Changer ( ₹ 153 crore)
L2: Empuraan ( ₹ 126 crore)
June alone added over ₹ 900 crore to the year's box office total.
'The cumulative box office for Jan–Jun releases stands at ₹ 5,723 crore, which is 14 per cent higher than the same period in 2024 and just ₹ 12 crore short of the 2022 record for Jan–Jun box office,' the report mentioned.
Coming to the success of Chhaava, the Vicky Kaushal film released on February 14, 2025. The film continued to run in theatres until March 21, 2025, marking its 36th day.
As per multiple reports, the film held 24-hour screenings in Maharashtra due to high demand. Reportedly, 6 am and midnight shows were added for the film right after its release, recording about 97% occupancy.
A little less than a month after its release, Chhaava also released a Telugu dubbed version in theatres to keep up with the demand.
Later, the film made its OTT debut on Netflix on April 11.
The film is directed by Laxman Utekar, and produced by Dinesh Vijan under Maddock Films.