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Hanuman Ansh to Laalo: Small-budget films that became box office hits

Updated On: 10 September, 2026 06:22 PM IST | Shruti Sampat

Hanuman Ansh has been surpassing major records of Blockbuster films at box office. This isn't the first time a small budget film has made waves, earlier films like Laalo, Sairat and others broke records despite having humble beginnings 

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Small budget films that made massive box office collection (Pictures via Instagram and IMDB)
Small budget films that made massive box office collection (Pictures via Instagram and IMDB)
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Hanuman Ansh: Made on a reported budget of around Rs 2 crore, Hanuman Ansh has emerged as one of the biggest low-budget success stories. The devotional film, based on the life of Neem Karoli Baba, reportedly earned around Rs 180.95 crore worldwide, translating to nearly 90 times its reported production cost. Its strong word-of-mouth helped it grow despite lacking a conventional star-led cast.
Hanuman Ansh: Made on a reported budget of around Rs 2 crore, Hanuman Ansh has emerged as one of the biggest low-budget success stories. The devotional film, based on the life of Neem Karoli Baba, reportedly earned around Rs 180.95 crore worldwide, translating to nearly 90 times its reported production cost. Its strong word-of-mouth helped it grow despite lacking a conventional star-led cast.
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Secret Superstar: Aamir Khan’s Secret Superstar was reportedly made on a budget of around Rs 15 crore and went on to collect approximately Rs 905 crore worldwide. Its India net was around Rs 63.40 crore, with China becoming a massive market for the film. The musical drama’s worldwide gross was nearly 60 times its reported budget, making it one of the most remarkable ROI stories in Indian cinema.
Secret Superstar: Aamir Khan’s Secret Superstar was reportedly made on a budget of around Rs 15 crore and went on to collect approximately Rs 905 crore worldwide. Its India net was around Rs 63.40 crore, with China becoming a massive market for the film. The musical drama’s worldwide gross was nearly 60 times its reported budget, making it one of the most remarkable ROI stories in Indian cinema.
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Laalo – Krishna Sada Sahaayate: The Gujarati film Laalo reportedly had an incredibly modest budget of around Rs 50 lakh. Despite the small investment, it went on to earn around Rs 120 crore, giving it an extraordinary return of nearly 240 times its budget. The film became the first Gujarati movie to cross the Rs 100 crore mark, establishing itself as one of India's biggest low-budget success stories
Laalo – Krishna Sada Sahaayate: The Gujarati film Laalo reportedly had an incredibly modest budget of around Rs 50 lakh. Despite the small investment, it went on to earn around Rs 120 crore, giving it an extraordinary return of nearly 240 times its budget. The film became the first Gujarati movie to cross the Rs 100 crore mark, establishing itself as one of India's biggest low-budget success stories
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Sairat: Nagraj Manjule’s Marathi romantic drama Sairat was reportedly made for around Rs 4 crore and collected approximately Rs 110 crore worldwide. Its India net was around Rs 81 crore, with Maharashtra contributing significantly to its business. The film delivered nearly 27 times its budget in worldwide gross and became a landmark success for Marathi cinema.
Sairat: Nagraj Manjule’s Marathi romantic drama Sairat was reportedly made for around Rs 4 crore and collected approximately Rs 110 crore worldwide. Its India net was around Rs 81 crore, with Maharashtra contributing significantly to its business. The film delivered nearly 27 times its budget in worldwide gross and became a landmark success for Marathi cinema.
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Kantara: Rishab Shetty’s Kannada blockbuster Kantara was made on a reported budget of around Rs 15-16 crore. It eventually crossed the Rs 400 crore mark worldwide, giving the film a return of more than 25 times its reported budget. Its rooted storytelling, folklore, action and spiritual themes helped it break out beyond Karnataka and become a pan-India phenomenon.
Kantara: Rishab Shetty’s Kannada blockbuster Kantara was made on a reported budget of around Rs 15-16 crore. It eventually crossed the Rs 400 crore mark worldwide, giving the film a return of more than 25 times its reported budget. Its rooted storytelling, folklore, action and spiritual themes helped it break out beyond Karnataka and become a pan-India phenomenon.
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The Kashmir Files: Vivek Agnihotri’s The Kashmir Files was reportedly made for around Rs 15-25 crore and went on to earn approximately Rs 341 crore worldwide. Its India net was around Rs 253 crore. Depending on the production-cost estimate, the film delivered roughly 14-23 times its budget in worldwide gross and became one of the biggest Hindi theatrical successes of 2022.
The Kashmir Files: Vivek Agnihotri’s The Kashmir Files was reportedly made for around Rs 15-25 crore and went on to earn approximately Rs 341 crore worldwide. Its India net was around Rs 253 crore. Depending on the production-cost estimate, the film delivered roughly 14-23 times its budget in worldwide gross and became one of the biggest Hindi theatrical successes of 2022.
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Stree: Amar Kaushik’s Stree was made on a reported budget of around Rs 20-30 crore and collected approximately Rs 180 crore worldwide. The horror-comedy delivered a return of around 6-9 times its production budget, depending on the budget estimate used. Its success also established the foundation for Maddock Films’ horror-comedy universe.
Stree: Amar Kaushik’s Stree was made on a reported budget of around Rs 20-30 crore and collected approximately Rs 180 crore worldwide. The horror-comedy delivered a return of around 6-9 times its production budget, depending on the budget estimate used. Its success also established the foundation for Maddock Films’ horror-comedy universe.
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The Kerala Story: Sudipto Sen’s The Kerala Story was reportedly made on a budget of approximately Rs 15 crore. The film went on to collect around Rs 302 crore worldwide, while its India net stood at approximately Rs 242 crore. Its worldwide gross was roughly 20 times its reported budget, making it one of the biggest Hindi successes of 2023 relative to its production cost.
The Kerala Story: Sudipto Sen’s The Kerala Story was reportedly made on a budget of approximately Rs 15 crore. The film went on to collect around Rs 302 crore worldwide, while its India net stood at approximately Rs 242 crore. Its worldwide gross was roughly 20 times its reported budget, making it one of the biggest Hindi successes of 2023 relative to its production cost.
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Premalu: The Malayalam romantic comedy Premalu was initially widely reported to have been made for around Rs 3 crore, although producer Dileesh Pothan later clarified that the actual cost was closer to Rs 8-10 crore. The film earned approximately Rs 136 crore worldwide. Depending on which budget is considered, its return stands at roughly 14-45 times the investment, making it a major example of a small-scale film becoming a theatrical sensation through word-of-mouth.
Premalu: The Malayalam romantic comedy Premalu was initially widely reported to have been made for around Rs 3 crore, although producer Dileesh Pothan later clarified that the actual cost was closer to Rs 8-10 crore. The film earned approximately Rs 136 crore worldwide. Depending on which budget is considered, its return stands at roughly 14-45 times the investment, making it a major example of a small-scale film becoming a theatrical sensation through word-of-mouth.
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Su From So: The Kannada horror-comedy Su From So was made for approximately Rs 4.5 crore, with the overall cost including promotions reportedly around Rs 5.5 crore. The film went on to collect roughly Rs 121-125 crore worldwide. That translates to more than 20 times its reported all-in cost, making the JP Thuminad directorial one of Kannada cinema’s notable sleeper hits.
Su From So: The Kannada horror-comedy Su From So was made for approximately Rs 4.5 crore, with the overall cost including promotions reportedly around Rs 5.5 crore. The film went on to collect roughly Rs 121-125 crore worldwide. That translates to more than 20 times its reported all-in cost, making the JP Thuminad directorial one of Kannada cinema’s notable sleeper hits.

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