100 Crore Club

The 100 Crore Club is a colloquial term used in the Indian film industry to denote films that achieve significant box office success. In Hindi cinema, it refers to films that have a net domestic box office collection of ₹100 crore (1 billion Indian rupees) or more after deducting entertainment tax. In contrast, in South Indian cinema, the term applies to films that gross ₹100 crore or more worldwide, without deductions for taxes. The key differences are that Hindi cinema tracks net earnings after tax deductions, while South Indian cinema considers gross earnings, and Hindi cinema focuses on domestic collections, whereas South Indian films account for worldwide collections.

By 2012, crossing ₹100 crore had become a benchmark for commercial success in Hindi cinema, with films reaching this milestone considered major hits. Actors Akshay Kumar (20) and Salman Khan (18) hold the most entries in the club. In 2017, the 1000 Crore Club emerged as a new benchmark for record-breaking films with Baahubali 2.

Overview

The first Indian film to cross worldwide was the 1982 Hindi film Disco Dancer, directed by Babbar Subhash, written by Rahi Masoom Raza, and starring Mithun Chakraborty, with over 90 crore grossed at the Soviet (present-day Russia) box office. The first Indian film to gross over 100 crore domestically in India was the Salman Khan and Madhuri Dixit starrer Hum Aapke Hain Kaun (1994). The next film to cross worldwide was the Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol starrer (1995).

The 100 Crore Club emerged more than a decade later, when the Aamir Khan, Asin and Jiah Khan starrer Ghajini (2008) was released and became the first Hindi film to earn net at the box office, soon after which the term "100 Crore Club" was coined. Overseas, the first Indian film to gross 100 crore in international markets was the Shah Rukh Khan-Kajol-starrer My Name is Khan (2010), followed by 3 Idiots in 2011.

Beyond Hindi cinema, the first South Indian film to gross over 100 crore worldwide was 2007 Rajinikanth starring Tamil film Sivaji. The first Telugu film to enter the "100 Crore club" was the 2009 film by S.S. Rajamouli, Magadheera. In May 2016, Sairat become the first Marathi film to gross over worldwide. In 2016, Mohanlal starring Pulimurugan became the first Malayalam film to enter the club. In 2017, the first Indian English language film to enter the 100 Crore club was the Indo-British co-production Viceroy's House directed by Gurinder Chadha. It earned $12.8 million worldwide. The first Kannada movie to enter 100 Crore club was KGF: Chapter 1 directed by Prashanth Neel, released in 2018, starring Yash and Srinidhi Shetty crossing 153 crores in 11 days.

When adjusted for inflation, the first Indian film to gross an adjusted 100 crore was the 1940 film Zindagi, directed by P.C. Barua and written by Javed Hussain. The first Indian film to gross an adjusted 100 crore overseas was the 1951 film Awaara, directed by Raj Kapoor, written by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas, and starring Raj Kapoor and Nargis, becoming a blockbuster in the Soviet Union.

The first Punjabi film to cross ₹100 Crore was the Pakistani Punjabi film The Legend of Maula Jatt starring Fawad Khan and directed by Bilal Lashari in the year 2022. The first Indian Punjabi film to enter the 100 Crore club was Carry on Jatta 3 starring Gippy Grewal in the year 2023.

The latest film industry to enter the 100 Crore club was the Gujarati film industry in 2025 with the film Laalo - Krishna Sada Sahaayate grossing over ₹111 Crore worldwide.

The Hindustan Times claims that their magazine Brunch coined the term. Initially the term applied only to the lead male actor. Komal Nahta stated that "excluding women from the group is characteristic of an industry which exercises gender discrimination more than other industries." By 2013, the usage had expanded to variously include the film itself, the director, and the lead female actor. The Zee Cine Awards added a category "The Power Club Box Office" to recognise directors whose films had reached the 100 crore mark. The 100 Crore Club designation has replaced previous Bollywood indications of success which had included great music, the "Silver Jubilee" or the "Diamond Jubilee" (films that ran for 75 weeks in theatres).

However, DNA reported that "Filmmakers and distributors are known to leave no stone unturned in their attempt to cross over to the right side" of the 100 crore mark." The Times of India cancelled its "Box Office" column in November 2013 because "The stakes of filmmakers have increased so much that they are willing to go any distance to manipulate and jack up their numbers to beat each other's records." and the Times felt they were no longer able to provide accurate enough figures because "Films that have not reached the '100 crore mark but are close will insist that they have reached the '100 crore figure as they can't resist being in the '100 crore club.'"

The concentration on reaching the club has been criticised, with actor and producer Arshad Warsi stating, "I find this whole Rs.100 crore club very stupid. How can every film releasing lately do a business of Rs.100 crores all of a sudden? Instead of this, we need to concentrate on making good films." Shahid Kapoor called the designation a "fad" which was leading to "massy films which are very basic in their understanding and high on entertainment. But if we run only to achieve those figures then we will restrict ourselves as actors." On the other hand, Dibakar Banerjee, while agreeing with Kapoor about the impact on content stated, "I hope the club stays and grows to many more crores. Films as they do more business boost the confidence of audience and investors alike and everybody benefits." Priyanka Chopra said that being part of films in the 100 Crore Club allowed her to also do less commercial "women-oriented films", and lamented that as of December 2013, no woman oriented films had achieved the 100 Crore Club designation.

Variations of the "Bollywood 100 Crore Club" came into use, such as the "Bollywood 400 Crore Club" when the Shah Rukh Khan-Deepika Padukone-starrer Chennai Express reported box office receipts of 400 crore in 2013, and the "Tollywood 600 Crore Club", which relates to Telugu films that have earned over in 2015, such as film Baahubali: The Beginning which earned . They were eventually succeeded by the 1000 Crore Club, when Baahubali 2: The Conclusion crossed the mark () in 2017.

List of the highest-grossing 100 crore films +Languages with films in 100 Crore ClubLanguageHighest grossing film (release year)Collection1HindiDangal (2016)₹1,968–2,200 crore2TeluguBaahubali 2: The Conclusion (2017)₹1,810.60 crore3KannadaKGF: Chapter 2 (2022)₹1200–1250 crore4Tamil2.0 (2018)₹699.89–800 crore5EnglishToxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-Ups (2026)₹337.80 crore6MalayalamBethlehem Kudumba Unit (2026)₹330 crore7MarathiRaja Shivaji (2026)₹130 crore8GujaratiLaalo – Krishna Sada Sahaayate (2025)₹120 crore9PunjabiJatt & Juliet 3 (2024)₹110 crore

Milestones See 1000 Crore Club for milestones beyond ₹1,000 crore.

Worldwide

+Worldwide milestones Nominal gross Film Year Milestone Ref Sivaji 2007 100 crore Dasavathaaram (2008) 2008 3 Idiots (2009) 2010 2013 400 crore Chennai Express (2013)2013 Dhoom 3 (2013)2013 500 crore 2014 550 crore PK (2014)2014 600 crore Mobhani, Suleman. (13 January 2015) Box Office: Comparison of the Top Grossers of 2014. Bollywood Hungama. Retrieved on 1 January 2017. 2015 700 crore 10 highest worldwide grossing Bollywood movies, Asianet News, 8 June 2017 800 crore Baahubali 2: The Conclusion (2017) 2017 900 crore crore crore crore crore crore crore crore croreDangal (2016)20171,900 crore 2,000 crore

Domestic

+Domestic milestones Nominal Film Year Nett milestone Gross milestone Ref Hum Aapke Hain Kaun 1994 Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge 1995 Ghajini 2008 Ghajini, Box Office India, accessed 8 June 2017 3 Idiots 2009 3 Idiots, Box Office India, accessed 8 June 2017 Chennai Express 2013 Dhoom 32013 PK 2014 Baahubali: The Beginning 2015 Dangal 2016 Baahubali 2: The Conclusion 2017 'Baahubali 2: The Conclusion' box-office collection: Film collects Rs 1000 crore nett in 30 days, The Times of India, 29 May 2017Dangal v Bahubali 2 Worldwide Update, Box Office India, 1 June 2017

Overseas

+ Overseas milestones Nominal gross Film Year Milestone Ref My Name is Khan (2010) 2010 100 crore 3 Idiots (2009) 2011 120 crore 2013 150 crore Dhoom 3 (2013) 2014 200 crore PK (2014) 2015 250 crore 300 crore Dangal (2016) 2017 400 crore 500 crore 600 crore 1,000 crore Inflation adjusted gross Film Year Milestone Ref Awaara (1951) 1954 Char Dil Char Rahen (1959) 1962 Mamta (1966) 1969 Bobby (1973) 1975 Disco Dancer (1982) 1984 1985 1986 1987

100 Crore Club

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