‘Hanuman Ansh’ Creates Box Office Surprise, Closes In On Dhurandhar, Outpaces Pathaan, Chhaava, URI

What began as a modest theatrical release has turned into one of the most remarkable box-office stories of the year. ‘ Hanuman Ansh’, the devotional drama based on the life of Neem Karoli Baba, continued its extraordinary run on Day 40, earning ₹8.25 crore net in India.

According to industry tracker Sacnilk, the film collected the amount across 9,175 shows, taking its India net collection to ₹231.13 crore and India gross to ₹272.90 crore. With another ₹2 crore coming from overseas on Day 40, its worldwide gross reached ₹291.40 crore, putting the film within touching distance of the ₹300-crore milestone.

The Day 40 number becomes even more striking when compared with several major Hindi releases. Dhurandhar reportedly collected ₹2.60 crore on its 40th day, while Pathaan recorded ₹2.55 crore. Chhaava and URI: The Surgical Strike collected ₹1.40 crore and ₹1.38 crore, respectively, at the same stage of their theatrical runs.

The bigger story, however, is how dramatically Hanuman Ansh has changed its trajectory.

The film opened on August 7 with just ₹10 lakh and reportedly had a production budget of around ₹2 crore. Its first week brought in only ₹1.08 crore, followed by just ₹40 lakh in the second week. At that stage, there was little indication that the film would develop into a major theatrical success.

The turnaround began in its third week, when collections jumped to ₹10.40 crore. The momentum grew sharply in the following weeks, with the film recording particularly strong collections during its fourth and fifth weeks.

Its sixth weekend produced another major surprise. The film reportedly collected ₹51.50 crore across three days, including ₹10.50 crore on Friday, ₹18.50 crore on Saturday and ₹22.50 crore on Sunday.

Directed by Vishal Chaturvedi, Hanuman Ansh stars Shobhinaw Satyaa as Neem Karoli Baba, with Chandan Anand also in a key role. The film's devotional subject and growing word-of-mouth appeal appear to have helped it find an audience well beyond its modest opening.

With ₹291.40 crore worldwide after 40 days, the film now stands just short of the ₹300-crore mark, completing a dramatic journey from a ₹10-lakh opening to one of the year's most unexpected theatrical successes.