Stree, Badhaai Ho, Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety – the 5 most-profitable Bollywood movies of 2018

Bollywood has seen a topsy-turvy year at the box office in 2018. Several biggies fell, while small-budget films like Badhaai Ho and Stree thrived at the ticket window. Clearly, the ‘new-age’ audience has become very choosy and have shown that they will not accept any film with bad content. And with that, movies with great screenplay, fantastic performances, exquisite direction and great entertainment value struck chord with the masses this year. While a few big movies did go on to make Rs 300 crore plus at the domestic box office, the true winners were the small-budget films that made a lasting impact and raked in the moolah.

Yes, smaller films with tremendous content like Stree, Badhaai Ho, Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety, went ballistic at the box office and earned a huge return of investment. With a better return of investment and low cost of production, these films entered the most profitable Bollywood movies club. Here’s showcasing the top 5 most-profitable Bollywood movies of 2018.

# Stree

Cost: Rs 20 crore

Lifetime collection: Rs 129.90 crore

Return on investment: Rs 109.90 crore

ROI %: 549.50

Shraddha Kapoor and Rajkummar Rao’s Stree is one of the few horror comedies that the Indian audience has witnessed and with an engaging and a thrilling story, it struck chords with the movie-goers. A fantastic word-of-mouth publicity helped Stree rake in the moolah and become the most-profitable film of the year.

# Badhaai Ho

Cost: Rs 22 crore

Lifetime collection: Rs 137.54 crore

Return on investment: Rs 115.54 crore

ROI %: 525.18

Another film high on content, Ayushmann Khurrana and Sanya Mahotra’s Badhaai Ho had a dream run at the box office. In fact, it crushed competition from the likes of Namaste England and sustained even after a biggie like Thugs of Hindostan released. With a really entertaining plot and some fantastic performances, the movie netted a huge amount and being made on a decent budget, it earned a fantastic return on investment.

# Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety

Cost: Rs 24 crore

Lifetime collection: Rs 108.95 crore

Return on investment: Rs 84.95 crore

ROI %: 353.95

One of the most entertaining releases of the first half of 2018, Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety really impressed one and all. Not only was it a fun-filled film, but it also gave out a really cool message. It appealed to the masses and with a tremendous word-of-mouth publicity, it raked in excess of Rs 100 crore, giving it a fantastic return on investment.

# Sanju

Cost: Rs 80 crore

Lifetime collection: Rs 342.53 crore

Return on investment: Rs 262.53 crore

ROI %: 328.16

An exciting biopic on the life of Sanjay Dutt paired with an exhilarating performance by Ranbir Kapoor meant that Sanju would be a huge hit and that’s what happened. People fell in love with the film and the audience went to the theatres to watch it twice and even three times, enabling Sanju to earn in excess of Rs 300 crore and garner a huge return on investment.

# Raazi

Cost: Rs 30 crore

Lifetime collection: Rs 123.84 crore

Return on investment: Rs 93.84 crore

ROI %: 312.80

A spy-thriller with an engaging Indo-Pakistan connection and showcasing a heart-warming performance by Alia Bhatt, Raazi earned a huge amount of money, mostly courtesy the fabulous word-of-mouth publicity. With a low-cost of making, it got a great return on investment.

With Stree coming as a surprise topper in this list, we are quite eager to know what happens in 2019. Will a small budget film shock the biggies once again or will it be the other way around? Will Salman Khan, Aamir Khan and Shah Rukh Khan bounce back at the box office? Well, only time will tell. In the meantime, stay tuned to Cine Blitz as we get you more updates from the box office right here.