Bollywood Overseas Box Office – Top 5 Stars

Following up on the much-discussed Top 5 most bankable stars in India, today we discuss the top stars in the overseas market.

Over the last few years, the increasingly large size of the overseas markets, has made it extremely significant for Bollywood filmmakers. The higher ticket prices, the growing NRI audience and the international audience slowly taking interest in Hindi films, has ensured that the $20 million threshold (equivalent to the 100 crore club in India) has been surpassed by films like My Name Is Khan and 3 Idiots.

Popular filmmaker Karan Johar, whose last few films have fared well internationally, once famously said “We do not see NRI’s as people who are separate from Indians. They are all Indians and in fact the NRI’s are more Indian at heart then any of us in India!”

So who are the Top 5 overseas box office stars? It’s pretty much the same as the biggest stars in India, just that the order has changed.

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1. Shahrukh Khan – Well, what do we say? SRK has dominated the international market like no other actor in history. None come close, he’s the absolute KING, by a fair distance. Of the 10 highest grossing films, SRK has starred in 7. In the Top 25, he features in a staggering 12 films! Before 3 Idiots released in China, My Name Is Khan was by far the highest grossing film with $22.15 million (Rs 120 crores). Some of his films that haven’t fared as well as expected in India are blockbusters abroad!

2. Aamir Khan – With 23.9 million (130 crores), 3 Idiots is the highest overseas grosser ever. The film has also made a huge impact at places where most Hindi films don’t even release. While the success of 3 Idiots has tremendously increased Aamir’s following, some of his older film like Ghajini and Fanaa have done well too.

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3. Hrithik Roshan – Hrithik has always been a bankable star at the overseas box office and fairly consistent too with 5 of his films in the Top 25 (including K3G). Dhoom 2 is the 7th highest grosser ever and one of the few films in the SRK dominated Top 10. Before the release of 3 Idiots, Hrithik occupied the second spot.

4. Salman Khan – With 2 films in the Top 25 (three if Kuch Kuch Hota Hai is included), the stocks of the most popular star in India has been rising with films like Dabangg and Bodyguard (No 10). His two upcoming films – Ek Tha Tiger and Dabangg 2 – could push him into the Top 3.

5. Akshay Kumar – Much like Hrithik, Akshay too has been consistent but on the lower side. Some of his films like Singh Is King, Welcome and Housefull 2 have set the cast registers ringing.

Top 25 Highest Grossing Overseas films

#	Movie	Overseas Collections	In Indian Rupees (55 per $)	Lead stars
1	3 Idiots	$23.90 million	132 crores	Aamir Khan, Kareena Kapoor
2	My Name Is Khan	$22.15 million	122 crores	Shahrukh Khan, Kajol
3	Don 2	$11.70 million	65 crores	Shahrukh Khan, Priyanka Chopra
4	Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna	$10.77 million	60 crores	Shahrukh Khan, Rani Mukherjee
5	Om Shanti Om	$10.08 million	56 crores	Shahrukh Khan, Deepika Padukone
6	Ra One	$9.20 million	51 crores	Shahrukh Khan, Kareena Kapoor
7	Dhoom 2	$8.57 million	47 crores	Hrithik Roshan, Aishwarya Rai
8	Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi	$8.43 million	46 crores	Shahrukh Khan, Anushka Sharma
9	Veer Zaara	$8.20 million	45 crores	Shahrukh Khan, Preity Zinta
10	Bodyguard	$8.15 million	45 crores	Salman Khan, Kareena Kapoor
11	Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham	$8.00 million	44 crores	Shahrukh Khan, Kajol
12	Jodha Akbar	$7.55 million	42 crores	Hrithik Roshan, Aishwarya Rai
13	Don	$7.46 million	41 crores	Shahrukh Khan, Priyanka Chopra
14	Black	$7.40 million	41 crores	Amitabh Bachchan, Rani Mukherjee
15	Singh is King	$7.27 million	40 crores	Akshay Kumar, Katrina Kaif
16	Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara	$7.25 million	40 crores	Hrithik Roshan, Katrina Kaif
17	Ghajini	$7.06 million	39 crores	Aamir Khan, Asin
18	Fanaa	$6.86 million	38 crores	Aamir Khan, Kajol
19	Devdas	$6.65 million	37 crores	Shahrukh Khan, Aishwarya Rai, Madhuri Dixit
20	Kuch Kuch Hota Hai	$6.25 million	35 crores	Shahrukh Khan, Kajol
21	Love Aaj Kal	$6.20 million	35 crores	Saif Ali Khan, Deepika Padukone
22	Housefull 2	$6.10 million	34 crores	Akshay Kumar, John Abraham, Asin
23	Dabangg	$6.10 million	34 crores	Salman Khan, Sonakshi Sinha
24	Kal Ho Na Ho	$6.00 million	33 crores	Shahrukh Khan, Preity Zinta, Saif Ali Khan
25	Agneepath	$6.00 million	33 crores	Hrithik Roshan, Priyanka Chopra

Note: Since, we do not specialize in overseas box office and do not have an extensive database, we have used figures from Wikipedia.

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