With a ₹2 crore budget and no A-list stars, the devotional drama turns audience word of mouth into a remarkable box-office success
New Delhi: Hanuman Ansh, a devotional drama set across the life and teachings of Neem Karoli Baba, has been named by director Vishal Chaturvedi the biggest box office surprise of 2026. Launched with little fanfare and no A-list stars but a big heart and soul, the movie opened with 355 shows and a collection of about Rs 10 lakh against a production budget of about Rs 2 crore. And yet it has become a super hit, fighting it out with many other commercial films in the current box office scenario.
In the film Hanuman Ansh, Shobinav Satyaa plays the role of Neem Karoli Baba (also called Maharaj-ji) while Vihaan Shedge acts as the saint in his childhood. The other key members of the supporting cast are Chandan Anand, Purnima Tiwari, Anil K. Rastogi and Gulshan Pandey. Shobinav Satyaa, who plays a pivotal role in the film has come on board as a lead after joining the team as assistant director but stepping into the shoes of the lead when the original lead couldn’t deliver on the account of some prior commitments.
Hanuman Ansh narrates the life history of Neem Karoli Baba from his childhood to old age and the transformation he undergoes in his life and the message of faith and faith in love and devotion he spreads in his life. A two and a half hour ‘U’ (Universal) film, it is a family entertainer that has managed to connect with the masses through the music and the devotion the film exudes. But the movie’s earnings during the first two weeks were absolutely disappointing with just about Rs 1.08 crore in the first week and only about Rs 40 lakh in the second. However, the fortunes of the movie changed on the 16th day when word of mouth recommendations started to really take off. The collection for the third week was Rs 10.40 crore and it is expected that the total collection of the movie for about five weeks would be about Rs 50 crore.
The movie has had the best turnout in Delhi-NCR where it had about 1,126 shows with an occupancy of 31% even on the 27th day. Mumbai has been the second best with about 658 shows and 18% occupancy. Nationally, the film earned about Rs 7.25 crore on Wednesday with 7,037 shows with an occupancy of about 29%. According to tracking reports, the film’s gross collection from India is expected to be about Rs 72.32 crore.
In addition to its earnings, the number of screens too on which the film has been screened has grown substantially with about 7,000 shows across the country as compared to the initial plan of only 355 shows.
The filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar was extremely enthusiastic about the film after watching it in the theatre calling it “pure cinematic magic” and a “case study” for the industry. He praised the honesty of direction and the natural acting of Satya saying that conviction and storytelling can make even a low budget film without A-list stars become a superhit.
The film has had a record-breaking start and is currently up against Yash’s film ‘Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-Ups’. A big budget action film, ‘Toxic’ has been released in five languages with a budget of about Rs 100 crore and a show count 1,500 higher than Hanuman Ansh. But on the 27th day, Hanuman Ansh is earning about Rs 8.50 crore while ‘Toxic’ is earning only about Rs 8.20 crore on the 7th day.
The film is also outperforming Emraan Hashmi’s ‘Awarapan 2’ in terms of numbers. With good word of mouth, ‘Awarapan 2’ did well on its opening day but on the 20th day its earnings were only about Rs 40 lakh, much lower than those of Hanuman Ansh. This shows how good the audience’s word of mouth can really help transform a film into a record-breaking hit.
The film has earned about Rs 50 crore in India and is set for an international release now. The international theatrical release by Hombale Films has been scheduled for September 11. It is a testament to the international audience’s interest in Indian spirituality as well as Neem Karoli Baba’s legacy.
The journey of Hanuman Ansh has taught the industry that a film’s success or failure hinges not on stars, budgets, marketing, or opening-day figures but quality and the audience’s reception to it. The spiritual story of the film has attracted a wide audience and created a deep emotional impact.
