List of highest-grossing Indian films in overseas markets
This is a list of highest-grossing Indian films in overseas markets, including all language films from the cinema of India. These estimates are as reported by reputable sources.
History
The first Indian film to have a commercial release in an overseas territory was Dharti Ke Lal, directed by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas and based on the Bengal famine of 1943. It was released in the Soviet Union in 1949. The first Indian film to have a worldwide release in many countries was Aan, directed by Mehboob Khan, and starring Dilip Kumar and Nimmi. It was subtitled in 17 languages and released in 28 countries, including the United Kingdom, United States, France, and Japan, earning a considerable profit from overseas. Mehboob Khan's later Academy Award nominated Mother India was an unprecedented success in overseas markets, including Europe, Russia, the Eastern Bloc, French territories, and Latin America.Soviet Union
Up until the 1980s, the largest overseas market for Indian films was the Soviet Union. After Dharti Ke Lal, the first Indian film to become a blockbuster at the Soviet box office was Awaara, directed by Raj Kapoor and written by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas, released in the Soviet Union in 1954. Indian films had the strongest presence in the Soviet foreign blockbuster charts for four decades. 300 Indian films were released in the Soviet Union, most of which were Bollywood films. Among the foreign films that sold more than 20 million tickets in the Soviet Union, 50 were Indian films, the highest from any nation, compared to 41 Hollywood films. Indian films were routinely released with hundreds of prints in the Soviet Union, with the most popular Indian films releasing with more than a thousand prints there. The highest-grossing Indian film in the Soviet Union was Disco Dancer, written by Rahi Masoom Raza and starring actor Mithun Chakraborty. In terms of footfalls, the only Indian films estimated to have sold 100million tickets overseas were Awaara and Disco Dancer in the Soviet Union. Indian films were very popular in Russia at the time, routinely opening to packed houses. However, the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, bringing an end to Indian cinema's largest overseas market at the time. The decline of Russian cinema in the post-Soviet era led to Indian films largely disappearing from Russian cinemas by the mid-1990s.South Asian diaspora
Since the 1990s, the largest overseas market for Indian cinema has been the South Asian diaspora. The diaspora market began in the early 1990s, with the popularity of Shah Rukh Khan largely credited for starting the trend of Indian films targeting overseas NRI audiences. After some overseas success from the Shah Rukh Khan starrer Darr and the Madhuri Dixit and Salman Khan starrer Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!, the breakthrough came with Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, starring Shah Rukh Khan as an NRI. Afterwards, Indian films followed a trend of releasing worldwide with an increasing number of screens. Shah Rukh Khan starrer Dil Se was the first Indian film to enter the United Kingdom's top 10 box office charts. In 2000, the overseas export market for Indian films was worth annually. Naseeruddin Shah starrer Monsoon Wedding was the first international co-production and Shah Rukh Khan starrer My Name is Khan the first fully Indian production to collect 1 billion overseas, followed by Aamir Khan starrer 3 Idiots in 2011.China
In China, some of the Indian films to gain commercial success there during the 1970s–1980s included Awaara, Tahir Hussain's Caravan, Noorie, and Disco Dancer. After Indian films declined in the country, it took decades before Tahir Hussain's son Aamir Khan opened up the Chinese market for Indian films in the early 21st century. His Academy Award nominated Lagaan became the first Indian film to have a nationwide release there. When 3 Idiots released in China, the country was only the 15th largest film market, partly due to China's widespread pirate DVD distribution at the time. However, it was the pirate market that introduced 3 Idiots to most Chinese audiences, becoming a cult hit in the country. It became China's 12th favourite film of all time, according to ratings on Chinese film review site Douban, with only one domestic Chinese film ranked higher. Aamir Khan gained a large growing Chinese fanbase as a result. By 2013, China grew to become the world's second largest film market, paving the way for Aamir Khan's Chinese box office success, starting with Dhoom 3. PK was the first Indian film to collect 2 billion overseas, and Dangal is the first Indian film to exceed 10 billion and $100 million overseas, including ¥1.299 billion from China. Dangal became the 16th highest-grossing film in China, the fifth highest-grossing non-English language film worldwide, and the highest-grossing non-English foreign film in any market. His next film, the Zaira Wasim starrer Secret Superstar, broke Dangals record for the highest-grossing opening weekend by an Indian film, cementing Aamir Khan's status as a superstar in China, and as "a king of the Chinese box office". Salman Khan's Bajrangi Bhaijaan and Irrfan Khan's Hindi Medium also became blockbusters in China during early 2018.Overseas gross figures
The following list of films is sorted in terms of US dollars, the standard currency used to measure box office performance for overseas markets. Currency conversions to Indian rupees are also given as reference points, but may not be consistent, as the dollar-rupee exchange rate has varied significantly over time, from 4.76 rupees per dollar in the 1950s, to 65.11 rupees per dollar in 2017.| * | Denotes films still running in theaters |
Overseas gross adjusted for inflation
| Rank | Film | Year | Studio | Director | Writer | Overseas gross | Adjusted gross | |
| 1 | Dangal | 2016 | Aamir Khan Productions UTV Motion Pictures Walt Disney Studios India | Nitesh Tiwari | Nitesh Tiwari Piyush Gupta Shreyas Jain | $260 million | ||
| 2 | Disco Dancer | 1982 | B. Subhash Movie Unit | Babbar Subhash | Rahi Masoom Raza | $75.85 million | 11.76 billion | |
| 3 | Awaara | 1951 | All India Film Corporation R. K. Films | Raj Kapoor | Khwaja Ahmad Abbas | |||
| 4 | Secret Superstar | 2017 | Aamir Khan Productions | Advait Chandan | Advait Chandan | $140 million | 9.4 billion | |
| 5 | Caravan | 1971 | Nasir Hussain Films T.V. Films | Nasir Hussain | Nasir Hussain Majrooh Sultanpuri Sachin Bhowmick | |||
| 6 | Mera Naam Joker | 1970 | R. K. Films | Raj Kapoor | Khwaja Ahmad Abbas | List of Soviet films of the year by ticket sales| | ||
| 7 | Bobby | 1973 | R. K. Films | Raj Kapoor | Khwaja Ahmad Abbas | $21.44 million | 6.38 billion | |
| 8 | Mamta | 1966 | N.T. Studio | Asit Sen | Nihar Ranjan Gupta | $14.47 million | 6.38 billion | |
| 9 | Char Dil Char Rahen | 1959 | Naya Sansar | Khwaja Ahmad Abbas | Khwaja Ahmad Abbas | $11.06 million | 5.91 billion | |
| 10 | Bajrangi Bhaijaan | 2015 | Salman Khan Films Kabir Khan Film | Kabir Khan | Kabir Khan K. V. Vijayendra Prasad | $84 million | 5.80 billion | |
| 11 | Aradhana | 1969 | United Producers | Shakti Samanta | Sachin Bhowmick | $14.29 million | 5.51 billion | |
| 12 | Phool Aur Patthar | 1966 | Ralhan Productions | O. P. Ralhan | Akhtar ul Iman Ehsan Rizvi | $12.89 million | 5.31 billion | |
| 13 | Barood | 1976 | Jugnu Enterprises | Pramod Chakravorty | Ehsan Rizvi Sachin Bhowmick | $21.25 million | 5.24 billion | |
| 14 | Seeta Aur Geeta | 1972 | Sippy Films | Ramesh Sippy | Salim-Javed | $18.21 million | 5.17 billion | |
| 15 | Sholay | 1975 | United Producers Sippy Films | Ramesh Sippy | Salim-Javed | |||
| 16 | Love in Simla | 1960 | Filmalaya | R. K. Nayyar | Agha Jani | $9.72 million | 5.11 billion | |
| 17 | Jagte Raho | 1956 | R. K. Films | Sombhu Mitra Amit Maitra | Khwaja Ahmad Abbas Sombhu Mitra | $9.33 million | 4.77 billion | |
| 18 | Hamraaz | 1967 | United Producers | B. R. Chopra | Akhtar ul Iman | $11.28 million | 4.7 billion | |
| 19 | Ganga Jamna | 1961 | Citizen Films | Nitin Bose | Dilip Kumar Wajahat Mirza | $8.92 million | 4.57 billion | |
| 20 | PK | 2014 | UTV Motion Pictures Rajkumar Hirani Films | Rajkumar Hirani | Abhijat Joshi Rajkumar Hirani | $53.4 million | 4.2 billion | |
| 21 | Jagir | 1984 | Pramod Films | Pramod Chakravorty | Sachin Bhowmick | |||
| 22 | Ram Aur Shyam | 1967 | Vijaya International | Tapi Chanakya | Kaushal Bharati | $10.1 million | 3.96 billion | |
| 23 | 2017 | Arka Media Works | S. S. Rajamouli | K. V. Vijayendra Prasad S. S. Rajamouli | ||||
| 24 | Haathi Mere Saathi | 1971 | Devar Films | M. A. Thirumugam | Salim-Javed | $8.92 million | 3.76 billion | |
| 25 | 3 Idiots | 2009 | Reliance BIG Pictures | Rajkumar Hirani | Abhijat Joshi Rajkumar Hirani Vidhu Vinod Chopra | $30.5 million | ||
| 26 | Andhadhun | 2018 | Sriram Raghavan | Sriram Raghavan Pooja Ladha Surti Hemanth Rao | Viacom 18 Motion Pictures Matchbox Pictures | $48.78 million | ||
| 27 | Zanjeer | 1973 | Filmistan | Prakash Mehra | Salim-Javed | $14.58 million | 2.82 billion | |
| 28 | Dhoom 3 | 2013 | Yash Raj Films | Vijay Krishna Acharya | Aditya Chopra Vijay Krishna Acharya | $35.6 million | 2.72 billion | |
| 29 | Raja Jani | 1972 | Mehboob Studio | Mohan Segal | Shahid Akberpuri S. Ali Raza | $14.85 million | 2.6 billion | |
| 30 | Hindi Medium | 2017 | T-Series | Saket Chaudhary | Zeenat Lakhani Saket Chaudhary | $36.52 million | 2.38 billion |