With a gross collection of Rs 11,833 crore, 2024 was the second-most successful year in the history of the Indian box office. Only 2023, with a tally of Rs 12,226 crore, had fared better. But 2025 is already set to mount a serious challenge to the all-time record, having accumulated Rs 1,013 crore in January, with Telugu films contributing almost half the numbers, as per the India Box Office Report by Ormax Media.

The top film of January was Sankranthiki Vasthunam, a Telugu action comedy starring Venkatesh, Aishwarya Rajesh and Meenakshi Chaudhary, which fetched Rs 223 crore. In second place for the month was Game Changer, another Telugu blockbuster. Helmed by Ram Charan and Kiara Advani, the political drama earned Rs 152 crore. Daaku Maharaaj, with Nandamuri Balakrishna, Bobby Deol and Urvashi Rautela in the cast, stormed to Rs 109 crore, good enough for the action drama to take fourth place for January. The remarkable success of Telugu films to kickstart 2025 can be partly attributed to the Sankranthi festival, which reaffirmed the impact of cultural occasions on cinema.

The solitary Hindi film in January’s biggest hits was Sky Force, with an ensemble of Akshay Kumar, Veer Pahariya, Sara Ali Khan and Nimrat Kaur, which soared to Rs 132 crore, ending Kumar’s recent run of disappointing box office performances. Madha Gaja Raja, a Tamil comedy, rounded off the top five for January with Rs 58 crore in its kitty. While Kangana Ranaut’s Emergency could only pool in Rs 20 crore, finishing 10th on January’s release list, the nostalgia appeal of Bollywood was reiterated with the re-release of Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani (originally out in 2013) doing business worth Rs 26 crore.

In terms of language share, Telugu dominated the pie, taking home 44 per cent of January’s collection. Hindi came in second with 28 per cent, with Tamil a distant third with 12 per cent.