Hanuman Ansh box office: Small-budget hit crosses Rs 1.69 billion, earning 84 times its cost

Hanuman Ansh, Vishal Chaturvedi’s drama about spiritual guru Neem Karoli Baba, played by Shobinaw Satyaa, added another Rs 11 crore on day 33, its fifth Tuesday, marking a 10% increase over Monday’s Rs 10 crore. Its cumulative collection now stands at Rs 169.20 crore gross and Rs 143.13 crore net.

For a film that opened on just 25 screens without major stars or a large marketing campaign, the performance has been an unexpected one.

The fifth week began more modestly. Friday (day 29) brought in Rs 10 crore, followed by Rs 16.50 crore on Saturday (day 30). Sunday (day 31) saw the film record its best day yet, with Rs 22.75 crore. Monday saw collections fall to Rs 10 crore before Tuesday brought a slight recovery to Rs 11 crore.

The early-week dip coincided with the arrival of a major new release, Gurmeet Singh’s crime thriller Mirzapur: The Movie, which opened on September 4 and added to the competition for screens and audiences.

Even so, on Tuesday, Mirzapur: The Movie collected Rs 16.75 crore, putting it only Rs 5 crore ahead of Hanuman Ansh. The latter’s continued performance this far into its theatrical run has been notable, particularly given its limited initial release.

The film will face further competition when Priyadarshan’s crime thriller Haiwaan, starring Saif Ali Khan and Akshay Kumar, arrives on September 11.

The film’s run is particularly striking given its modest start. Hanuman Ansh opened on a limited number of screens with a relatively unfamiliar cast, while its first week brought in just over Rs 1 crore. Week two saw collections fall further, reaching the lakh range.

The turnaround began in week three. On its third Sunday, the film crossed the Rs 1 crore mark in a single day for the first time, collecting Rs 2.5 crore. By the end of its third week, it had earned more than Rs 10 crore.

Week four brought a much bigger jump, with the film collecting Rs 61 crore. In week five, it has already surpassed that figure, reaching Rs 70.25 crore with two days still remaining.

The film has also overtaken two releases that arrived a week later with considerably greater visibility: Sunny Deol and Rajkumar Santoshi’s Partition drama Batwara 1947, and Emraan Hashmi and Nitin Kakkar’s action thriller Awarapan 2.

Made on a reported budget of roughly Rs 2 crore, Hanuman Ansh has now earned more than 84 times its reported production cost. That makes its box-office run an unusually strong return on a relatively small investment.

The film is also set to expand internationally this Friday, with Hombale Films handling its global distribution. Its theatrical run could therefore continue to add to what has already become an unexpected box-office success.