Hanuman Ansh box office day 36: Neem Karoli Baba film earns Rs 205 cr, makes over 100x budget

Hanuman Ansh box office collection day 36: Film crosses Rs 200 cr mark.

Hanuman Ansh box office collection day 36: Hanuman Ansh has emerged as an unlikely box-office winner despite the release of two new films — Akshay Kumar-Saif Ali Khan starrer Haiwaan and Manoj Bajpayee’s Last Man in Tower. The spiritual drama earned Rs 10.5 crore on Friday, surpassing the Friday collection of Mirzapur, which released last week. According to Sacnilk, the Vishal Chaturvedi directorial earned Rs 10.5 crore on its 36th day across 5,743 shows, recording an occupancy of 38%. The film witnessed a 5% growth from its Thursday collection of Rs 10 crore. Its current India gross collection stands at Rs 205.15 crore.

Meanwhile, the newly released Haiwaan opened to a lukewarm response, earning just Rs 3 crore across 7,224 shows. The Priyadarshan directorial film recorded an occupancy of only 11% on its opening day.

Rana Daggubati-backed Last Man in Tower, which opened to positive reviews, had an even slower start, earning just Rs 3 lakh on Friday. The film, an adaptation of Aravind Adiga’s novel of the same name, stars Manoj Bajpayee and Divya Dutta in the lead roles. Made on a reported budget of Rs 13 crore, Last Man in Tower was released across select premium multiplex chains in Tier-1 cities and is currently running on a limited number of screens in major metros. According to BookMyShow, the film has only 12 shows across Delhi-NCR, while Mumbai has just six shows scheduled for Saturday.

Mirzapur, which released last week, has also witnessed a decline in both shows and collections following the arrival of Haiwaan. From earning Rs 10.55 crore on Thursday across 10,379 shows with an occupancy of 25.9%, the film collected just Rs 9 crore on Friday, with nearly a drop of 4,000 shows.

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Hanuman Ansh is the second spiritual drama in Indian cinema this year to make headlines for its extraordinary box-office performance.

Earlier, Marathi film Deool Band 2 made headlines after reportedly being made on a modest budget of Rs 8-10 crore and going on to earn over Rs 100 crore. Before Deool Band 2, Gujarati film Laalo (2025) created a similar box-office phenomenon. Made on a reported budget of just Rs 1.5 crore, the film crossed Rs 120 crore at the box office and is now reportedly being remade in Telugu, with Vijay Deverakonda in the lead.

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In 2024, Telugu film HanuMan, which was also inspired by Indian mythological stories, achieved phenomenal success. Made on a reported budget of Rs 40 crore, the film went on to earn around Rs 300 crore worldwide. It emerged as one of the biggest box-office successes of the year, outperforming several Sankranti releases featuring bigger A-list stars, including Mahesh Babu and Nagarjuna.

While each of these films has achieved success in its own right, Hanuman Ansh stands out for crossing the Rs 200-crore mark despite reportedly being made on a budget of under Rs 2 crore. The film’s numbers could rise further following its overseas release on Friday, where it has already received a positive response.

According to Sacnilk, Hanuman Ansh has registered $100,000 (nearly Rs 95 lakh) in pre-sales across North America. The Vishal Chaturvedi directorial opened internationally on September 11, with Hombale Films, the production banner behind Kantara and KGF, handling its overseas distribution.

The film has now transformed into one of the biggest sleeper hits in recent Indian cinema. Its success has been driven largely by strong word of mouth, with the film beginning to record collections in crores from its third week as shows were increased in response to growing audience demand.