Rs 1.7 crore became Rs 57 crore in just 27 days: How Neem Karoli Baba-based movie Hanuman Ansh beat Dhurandhar 2 and Awarapan 2 to be Bollywood's most profitable film in 2026

You don’t need an extremely expensive budget to make a memorable film. The devotional drama film Hanuman Ansh, which was made on a shoestring budget of Rs 2 crore, has emerged as the unexpected blockbuster, earning a staggering Rs 57 crore so far. The film is based on the life of Maharaj-ji, also known as Neem Karoli Baba. Swambhu Media Network Pvt. Ltd., Ragini S., Namrata G. S., and Anupriya A. Nagar are the producers of the movie. Chandan Anand and Shobhinav Satyaa star as the titular characters in the movie.

Small Film, Big Box-Office Returns

As per a report by Rediff, excellent word-of-mouth resulted in an incredible recovery despite a pitiful opening weekend of ₹64 lakh and a decline to 40 screens by Week 2. The movie has achieved an incredible 14.14x weekend-to-lifetime box office multiple, which is a measure of a movie's overall legs and is frequently referred to as Aamir Khan's recipe for longevity. The film’s staying power at the box office puts it ahead of other hits such as Kantara and the Kashmir Files.

A larger multiple indicates that the film relied less on a front-loaded opening weekend rush and more on ongoing audience word-of-mouth. Its third weekend revenue of Rs 3.68 crore (Rs 36.8 million) was a staggering 1,168.97 percent increase over its second weekend revenue of Rs 29 lakh.


As per reports by the box-office tracking portal Sacnilk, the movie’s gross collections across the country are Rs 67 crore, and the net is Rs 57.28 crore so far.

According to a Hindustan Times and News 18 reports, the movie is the most profitable Indian film of 2026 right now, ahead of biggies like Toxic, Awarapan 2, and Dhurandhar: The Revenge. The movie has earned a staggering 2000% profit, earning 21 times more than its production budget.

As per industry experts, this might reach 5000% by the end of the movie's run. In contrast, Dhurandhar 2's comparatively larger budget of about Rs 125 crore allowed it to make a 1000% profit. In the same vein, Awarapan 2's box office receipts alone have generated a profit of over 450% above its ₹=Rs 30-crore budget.

In an interview with 123Telugu.com, the movie’s director Vishal Chaturvedi revealed that the audience’s appreciation for the film came from the PR machine; they did not promote the movie.

“I guess what worked in the film primarily is Baba’s divine story, music and the actors and makers who are very emotional about the subject. We hardly did any promotion and PR, as we did not have any budget, but the audience played the role of PR with word-of-mouth and posting on social media. The audience have driven the film on their shoulders,” he explained.

Neem Karoli Baba was a renowned Hindu guru and devotee of Lord Hanuman. Born to a wealthy Brahmin family in Uttar Pradesh, he left his home at the age of 11 to become an ascetic. Later, at his father's urging, he went back home to have a stable married life. He was the parent of a girl and two sons. Two major ashrams were constructed at Kainchi and Vrindavan during his lifetime. He spent the final ten years of his life in the Kainchi Dham, which was constructed in 1964 with a Hanuman ji temple.

Over a hundred temples were built in his honour over time.