Indian movies have always been watched globally. Though, during the Covid pandemic, the entertainment sector went through a massive decline. However, 2022 turned out to be the year when the audiences returned back to theatres.
Moreover, there are movies ranking among the highest-grossing films in the world in 2022, generating hundreds of millions of dollars in worldwide sales and at regional box offices.
Surprisingly, even some of the less known actors who recently had a successful film or two gained huge popularity.
List Of The Top 10 Highest Grossing Indian Films Of 2022
1. RRR
Director: S. S. Rajamouli
Cast: Jr NTR, Ram Charan, Alia Bhatt, Ajay Devgan, Shriya Saran, Ray Stevenson, Alison Doody, Olivia Morris, Varun Buddhadev, Spandan Chaturvedi, Rahul Ramakrishna
The story revolves on the imaginary friendship between Alluri Sitarama Raju (Charan) and Komaram Bheem (Rama Rao), two real-life Indian rebels who fought the British Raj. As per the story, the entire incident takes place in the 1920s, focuses on the unrecorded period of their life when both revolutionaries choose to live quiet lives before waging war for their nation.
Made on a budget of ₹550 crore ($72 million), RRR is the most expensive Indian film to date.
Surprisingly, RRR outperformed Rajamouli’s Baahubali 2, and turned out to be the second-highest-grossing Telugu movie worldwide as well as the fourth-highest-grossing Indian movie with a total global gross of ₹1,200 crore. Moreover, RRR became so popular amongst the masses that it smashed the record for the greatest opening-day collection by an Indian movie with ₹240 crore (US$30 million) globally on day one!
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2. KGF Chapter 2
Director: Prashanth Neel
Cast: Yash as Rocky, Sanjay Dutt, Raveena Tandon, Ramika Sen, Srinidhi Shetty, Anant Nag, Ramachandra Raju, Achyuth Kumar, Lakki Lakshman, Vinay Bidappa, Ayyappa P. Sharma, Dinesh Mangalore, Prakash Raj, Archana Jois, Malvika Avinash, Ramesh Rao, Govinda Gowda, Eshwari Rao, Vashishta Simha, Harish Rai, Mohan Juneja, Srinivasa Murthy, Balakrishna, T. S. Nagabharana, Tarak, Ashok Sharma, John Kokken
Vijendra Ingalgi, the son of Anand Ingalgi, continues the story of KGF and Rocky in Chapter 2. Notably, Rocky succeeds in escaping the attack of Vanaram’s troops after killing Garuda. He is a hero and a saviour to the people of Narachi who faces many obstacles, including Adheera, Inayat Khalil, and Ramika Sen, in order to uphold his promise to his mother.
It is the second-highest-grossing Indian movie internationally, the highest-grossing Indian movie of 2022, and the third-highest-grossing Indian movie internationally. One of the most popular movies in 2022, made around ₹1200–1500 worldwide
3. Kantara
Director: Rishab Shetty
Cast: Rishab Shetty, Kishore, Achyuth Kumar, Pramod Shetty, Sapthami Gowda, Vinay Biddappa
One of the most unique movies in its category after Tumbadd, Kantara is based on Bhootha Kola and Kambla culture. In a conflict between humans and nature, Shiva is a rebel who stands up for his village and to protect the environment. Moreover, due to a death, conflict takes place between the evil forces and the locals. Notably, this movie’s domestic box office collection is third highest in 2022.
The movie made on ₹16 crore budget, turned out to be one of the most profitable movies of 2022. Reportedly, this unique film recently crossed ₹400 crore mark at the global box office.
4. Ponniyin Selvan: I
Director: Mani Ratnam
Cast: Vikram, Rahman, Jayam Ravi, R. Sarathkumar, Karthi, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Trisha Krishnan, Jayaram, Sobhita Dhulipala, Aishwarya Lakshmi, Vikram Prabhu, Ashwin Kakumanu, R. Parthiban, Prabhu, Prakash Raj,
The story of this movie is pretty interesting. As per its plot, Vandiyathevan departs for the Chola region with a letter from Crown Prince Aditha Karikalan. Kundavai strives to create political peace as vassals and petty chieftains plot to kill the throne. However, unrest begins when a long-tailed comet appears in the sky, and it soon spreads across the entire country. As of 2022, Ponniyin Selvan: Part 1 has earned the most in Tamil category.
With overwhelmingly positive reviews, Ponniyin Selvan is getting close to the ₹500 crore mark. Reportedly, the current total box office revenue for Ponniyin Selvan is around ₹464.09 crore.
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5. Vikram
Director: Lokesh Kanagaraj
Star Cast: Kamal Hassan, Fahadh Faasli, Vijay Sethupati, Arjun Das, Narain, Shivani Narayanan
Based on the investigation of a murder by a special agent, the movie focuses to find the masked group of serial killers. Notably, it is the second-highest-grossing Tamil movie of 2022. As the investigating agent looks into the matter, he realises that it is not what it first appears to be, and that continuing in that direction can only lead to violence amongst all parties.
Released on June 3, 2022, this movie earned enormous critical and financial success. Earning between ₹420 crore (US$53 million) and ₹500 crore (US$63 million), it was ranked as the second-highest grossing Tamil movie of the year.
6. Brahmastra: Part 1- Shiva
Director: Ayan Mukerji
Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Amitabh Bachchan, Mouni Roy, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Inspired from Hindu mythology, the movie focuses on Shiva, an orphan with pyrokinetic skills who discovers that he is an astra—a weapon of tremendous energy, and is also a pyrokinetic. He works to prevent the Brahmastra, the most powerful of the astras (weapons) from falling into the hands of malevolent forces with whom he has a common history.
As estimated, the film would have earned over ₹431 crores globally, making it the highest-grossing Hindi film and the fifth-highest-grossing Indian film of 2022.
7. Bhool Bhulaiya 2
Director: Aneez Bazmee
Cast: Kartik Aaryan, Tabu, Kiara Advani, Rajpal Yadav, Sanjay Mishra, Amar Upadhyay, Rajesh Sharma, Milind Gunaji
The comedy-horror movie is a stand-alone sequel to Bhool Bhulaiya (2007). In order to deal with Manjulika’s return—a vengeful ghost hell-bent on retaliating against the Thakur family—Ruhaan Randhawa pretends to be a false psychic. Strangers Reet and Ruhan’s journey brings them to an abandoned mansion where they encounter a scary spirit that has been imprisoned for as long as 18 years. As per the ratings, it’s the third-highest grossing Hindi film of 2022.
Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 finished its theatrical run with a global take close to ₹250 crore. The film starring Kartik Aaryan and Kiara Advani made ₹182 crore nett (₹215 crore gross), with an additional $5.5 million (Rs 43 crore) internationally .
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8. Kashmir Files
Director: Vivek Agnihotri
Cast: Anupam Kher, Mithun Chakraborty, Pallavi Joshi, Darshan Kumar, Puneet Issar, Prakash Belawadi, Atul Srivastava, Bhasha Sumbli, Prithviraj Sarnaik, Mrinal Kulkarni, Chinmay Mandlekar
Kashmir files is one of the most controversial films in 2022! The storyline focuses on the 1990s exodus of Kashmiri pandits from Kashmir. The plot revolves around a Kashmiri Hindu college student who was raised by his grandfather in exile and kept in the dark about the circumstances behind the passing of his parents. After his grandfather passed away, the college student, who had come to believe that the exodus was peaceful, is inspired to find out the truth about his family’s demise. The student’s search in 2020 and his family’s difficulties in the preceding 30 years are alternately shown in the movie. It is the second-highest grossing Hindi film of 2022.
Reportedly, the movie had earned ₹340.92 crore (US$43 million) as of 28 April 2022, making it the second-highest-grossing Hindi movie of the year.
9. Drishyam 2
Director: Abhishek Pathak
Cast: Ajay Devgan, Tabu, Shriya Saran, Ishita Dutta, Akshaye Khanna, Mrunal Jadhav, Rajat Kapoor
Ajay Devgan and Tabu starring Drishyam 2, released recently, is already the fourth-highest grossing Hindi movie of 2022. Adapted from the original 2021 Malayalam film, which also serves as a prequel to the 2015 film Drishyam. Notably, Drishyam was itself adapted from the corresponding 2013 Malayalam film. A gripping tale about a family being threatened by an investigation, and a father trying to save his daughter who unintentionally murdered a police officer’s son.
The overall global gross collection for Drishyam 2 was ₹232.45 crore (₹194.62 crore – domestic box office gross collection and ₹37.9 crore – overseas box office gross collection)
10. Sarkaru Vaari Paata
Director: Parasuram
Cast: Mahesh Babu, Keerthi Suresh, Vennela Kishore, Subbaraju, Samuthirakani, Mahesh Manjrekar, Posani Krishna Murali, Ravi Prakaash, Nadhiya, Tanikella Bharani, Ajay
The name of the movie is based on its main character – Sarkaru Vaari Paata, Mahi, who believes that everyone should practice sound financial management. However, he meets a strong MP named Rajendranath, who doesn’t value money much. Sarkary falls in love with Rajendrnath’s daughter who deceives him. Moreover the movie focuses on how Sarkaru recoup his funds from Rajendranath, her father. Despite receiving mixed reviews, the movie ended up being one of the most successful Telugu movies of 2022.
On a budget of ₹60 crore, it was a commercial success; it made ₹180–230 crore worldwide, ranking among the highest-grossing Telugu movies of 2022.
So these were the top 10 highest grossing Indian movies in the year 2022. The Indian film industry, one of the biggest in the world, is known for its uniqueness, vibrancy, and drama. Mumbai is particularly significant in this perspective as it’s the origin of “Bollywood”.
However, there are many other film hubs spread out across the nation that are distinguished by regional languages, including Telugu, Tamil, Marathi, Bhojpuri, and Bengali. Notably, not only Hindi but for the past few years, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada movies have also been reaching new heights globally!
