There is an Indian film that earned over 60 times its production budget, setting a record that is unlikely to be broken anytime soon. It did it without the help of any hero, villain, or even action.
Sample this, the highest grossing Indian film ever – Dangal – made a little over 25 times its budget. For bigger blockbusters like Baahubali and Pathaan, this figure is just 5-7 times. So needless to say that a film earning a few times its budget is considered grand success. But what if we tell you that there is an Indian film that earned over 60 times its production budget, setting a record that is unlikely to be broken anytime soon. And surprisingly, that film did it without the help of any hero, villain, or even action.
The film which earned Rs 900 crore on a Rs 15-crore budget
Secret Superstar, the 2017 hit starring Zaira Wasim, is the most profitable Indian film ever made. The Aamir Khan production had a reported production budget of Rs 15 crore but was a runaway hit, minting over Rs 900 crore at the global box office, largely due to its dream run in China, from where it earned close to 90% of its box office earnings. The film was one of the highest grossing films in Indian box office history and the highest starring a woman in the lead.
What makes Secret Superstar’s feat more impressive
Secret Superstar was not an action film or even a masala entertainer. It had no action, stunts, large-scale sets, or grand sequences. In fact, apart from a cameo from Aamir Khan, it did not even have a hero. It largely rested on the shoulders of Zaira Wasim, who was 15 years old when the film was made. There was no antagonist in the film either, with the film depending on its slice-of-life connect with the audience for its box office aspirations. And the film did not disappoint one bit.
How Secret Superstar achieved these crazy numbers
Secret Superstar was a hit in India but not the kind of blockbuster it eventually became, not in its initial run at least. When it first released, the film did a business of Rs 64 crore net (Rs 90 crore gross) in India, with an additional Rs 65 crore overseas, giving it a global gross of Rs 155 crore in its initial run. This was a huge number in itself. But then the Advait Chandan directorial released in China in 2018, where it earned over $100 million, which took its global gross to Rs 905 crore by the end of its run. This made it the third-highest-grossing Indian film at the time.
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 "A still from Secret Superstar")
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