Every film has its own destiny. 2025 has seen the nemesis of several films and, unexpectedly, some of the greatest wins followed by some losses. While some movies became a hit, the critics did not work in the box office—contrasting to that, while some movies did massively grand in the box office was not critically acclaimed. That being said, let’s rewind and look at the cinematic hits and pits of the year, as it ends.
Cinematic Hits Of The Year
Dhurandhar
Dhurandhar: This spy action-thriller from Aditya Dhar managed to become a global X-factor with its release on December 5, 2025. Ranveer Singh is playing a role of an Indian undercover agent who goes deep into crime territories of Karachi. The movie won acclaim for its huge budgets and fire-like acted by Singh and Akshaye Khanna. Even though it was an adult film and was banned in some Arab countries, it turned out to be the biggest Bollywood film in 2025 with over ₹1,113 crore collection across the globe thereby breaking the record for the highest-grossing original Hindi-only film. A part two is already charted out for March 2026.
Chhaava
This historical epic, spoke of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj played by Vicky Kaushal, released on February 14, 2025. The film became a grand hit, earning around ₹807–809 crores worldwide. It was a milestone for the first non-Hindi film to net a whopping amount of ₹600 crores in India. Kaushal’s grand craft and the movie’s stunning war scenes received significant accolades, its running time and authenticity attracted diverse opinions among the reviewers.
Saiyaara
This musical romantic drama from Yash Raj Films was a huge surprise for the year. Mohit Suri directed the film and the debut actors Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda starred in it. It hit the theaters on July 18, 2025. The film was liked a lot and its total world-wide collection of ₹579 crore officially made it the highest-earning Indian romantic film of all time. The music of the movie, especially “Saiyaara,” which is the main song, was at the top of worldwide charts for some weeks
Sitaare Zameen Par
This sports comedy-drama featuring Aamir Khan and Genelia D’Souza hit the theaters on June 20, 2025. A spiritual successor to Taare Zameen Par, it shows Khan in the role of a basketball coach guiding neurodivergent players. The movie received a “plus” verdict for Khan as it grossed globally between ₹266-267 crore, which was a profitable verdict for the actor. Initially, it had a slow pace but then gradually picked up with the help of the strong word of mouth about its emotional impact.
Tere Ishk Mein
Dhanush and director Aanand L. Rai’s collaboration, which was highly anticipated and set in the universe of Raanjhanaa, pulled in around ₹119.3 crore and received a “plus” verdict at the box office throughout its run.
Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat
This movie was a sleeper hit in the romantic genre earning around ₹85.8 crores. It was mentioned as one of the rare mid-budget victories that succeeded in attracting an audience amidst the large action films’ overpowering presence.
Kantara
Rishab Shetty’s 2019 prequel to the successful 2022 movie was a big hit and continued the cultural dominance of the franchise. The film, which dealt with the divine origins of the Panjurli Daiva, was able to connect with people of different languages and cultures, and thus it became a global success by making ₹852 crore. It is still one of the five movies with the highest earnings of the year, and it has been highly acclaimed for its rich cultural folklore and mythological narrative.
Mahavatar Narsimha
The film animated on mythological theme was among the unexpected hits of the year, raking in ₹327 crore at the global box office. It was remarkable for introducing Indian animation of superior quality to the commercial movie theatre’s limelight.
Cinematic Pits Of The Year
War 2
Although it is the sixth part of the YRF Spy Universe and has Hrithik Roshan and Jr NTR in the lead roles, the movie was given the title of “losing affair”. The film, which was directed by Ayan Mukerji, was backed with a whopping ₹325–400 crore budget but its worldwide gross stood at just around ₹371 crore. Initially, it boasted a ₹80 crore opening day collection but in the second week it was hit so badly that it fell by 87% with the majority of the audience rating cues being the negative and mixed reviews directed at the screenplay and the visual effects.
Sikandar
Featuring Salman Khan and Rashmika Mandanna, the film was directed by A.R. Murugadoss. It was an Eid release this year and was labeled a huge box office failure. With a production budget of ₹200–250 crore, its global gross was merely ₹176–187 crore. Critics harshly criticized the movie for its old-fashioned plot and ordinary action, which resulted in the cancellation of many screenings due to a lack of interest.
Baaghi 4
The fourth installment of the action series, featuring Tiger Shroff and Sanjay Dutt, was heavily hit by “franchise fatigue”. After its release on September 5, 2025, it was able to earn around ₹66–77 crore worldwide, but the production cost was not covered. Producers considered it to be a profitable venture on paper because of the non-theatrical deals (the rights to stream the movie on Prime Video were sold for ₹50 crore), but it lost the game in theaters with an IMDb rating of just 2.6/10.
Dhadak 2
A spiritual successor to the film made in 2018, featuring Siddhant Chaturvedi and Triptii Dimri, this love story embedded with social elements hit the theaters on August 1, 2025. The movie got good reviews for its daring performed and proper caste division but it could not bring in many audiences. It managed only a meager sum of ₹29 crores in comparison to the estimated ₹45 crores budget and was considered a flop theatrically before it was released on Netflix.
Homebound
Ishaan Khatter and Janhvi Kapoor starred in this movie which touched on the topics of migration and identity. The movie, though very honest and well performed, was not able to attract many viewers as it was only shown in a few cinemas. The subtle storyline did not connect with the mass audience hence the low ticket sales for the film which led to its being categorized as a box office failure.
