Less than six films did well at the box office in 2022, which was a bad year for the Hindi film industry. Following the Covid-19 pandemic, there was a significant shift in how Indians watched movies. As a result, some movies performed beyond expectations while others met their demise with earnings far below their budgets.
Even during this period of low box office performance, there were a few actors who stood out. Now that things are gradually returning to normal, we anticipate 2023 to significantly surpass 2022. Kartik Aaryan, who directed Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 to an astounding box office total and didn’t have a failed movie to his name, was the year’s greatest winner. Anupam Kher, Ajay Devgn, and Ranbir Kapoor had an interesting box office year. Each of them saw significant success, although one or more of their movies either bombed or didn’t perform well financially. Along with Runway 34, Ajay also attracted attention with Rudra: The Age of Darkness on the digital platform.
Although the box office performance of both Varun Dhawan movies was respectable, there remained far greater potential for growth. With their much anticipated movies failing to take off, Hrithik Roshan and Aamir Khan had a disappointing year. Every other actor had a bad box office year, including Akshay Kumar, Ranveer Singh, John Abraham, Tiger Shroff, Ayushmann Khurrana, Sanjay Dutt, Sidharth Malhotra, and Shahid Kapoor.
The following actors have had the greatest box office collections in 2022:
• Ajay Devgn
Ajay Devgn came in first place on the list of 2022 thanks to his three main films, which collectively grossed over Rs 300 nett. The biggest contributor was Drishyam 2 with 235 crore, followed by Thank God and Runway 34 with a combined business of over 70 crore. In the two successful movies of the year, RRR and Gangubai Kathiawadi, he also played a few key roles. If the figures for these two movies are taken into account, the actor’s overall nett earnings in Hindi surpass the Rs. 700 cr. threshold. Intriguingly, Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior’s premiere in 2020 made Devgn the best actor of the year.
• Anupam Kher
Anupam Kher starred in The Kashmir Files, the biggest blockbuster of the year, and was also in the critically acclaimed and financially successful movie Uunchai. Both movies have accumulated nett receipts of about Rs. 280 cr. Additionally, the actor played a significant part in the Tollywood mythological drama sequel Karthikeya 2, which astonished the industry with Hindi box office collection that exceeded Rs 30 cr nett.
• Kartik Aaryan
The big movie release in 2022 for Kartik Aaryan was Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2. The movie made more than Rs 180 crore and finished the year as the fourth-highest Hindi grosser, just behind The Kashmir Files, Drishyam 2, and Brahmastra. The actor has a busy 2023 with significant solo releases, and if they do well, he will join the ranks of today’s top actors.
• Ranbir Kapoor
Ranbir Kapoor had a mixed box office year because he experienced one of his worst career disappointments with Shamshera while also enjoying a commercial hit with Brahmastra Part 1: Shiva. The combined nett revenue from both of his films in Hindi is little over Rs. 270 crore, and the realised figure is close to Rs. 300 crore when the dubbed versions of Brahmstra are taken into account.
• Akshay Kumar
Akshay Kumar had a forgettable year with all his four films tanking at the box office. The cummulative nett collections of his four films in lead, Bachchhan Paandey, Samrat Prithviraj, Raksha Bandhan and Ram Setu, amount to a figure of around Rs. 235 cr nett. These numbers can’t be written off as they place Akshay Kumar on number four in the list of highest grossing actors of 2022.