Bollywood’s box office queen: Outsider who beat Deepika Padukone, Alia Bhatt, Priyanka Chopra; made ₹3300 cr in 2 years

Three of the highest-grossing Hindi films of the last three calendar years have little in common. One is a gory revenge saga, another is a dubbed pan-India actioner, and the most recent one is a historical drama. They differ in settings, time periods, and even industries. Yet, one common factor binds them – the female lead. Rashmika Mandanna has been the star of Animal, Pushpa 2: The Rule, and Chhaava, all of which have wreaked havoc at the box office.

Rashmika Mandanna’s impressive box office feat

In the last 16 months, Rashmika has had three releases in theatres – all of which are massive blockbusters. Collectively, these films have already earned over ₹3300 crore at the box office, with Chhaava continuing to add to its ₹700-crore gross. What is even more impressive is that Rashmika – with a background of Kannada and Telugu films – has done well in the Hindi belt. All these three films – Animal, Pushpa 2, and Chhaava – have broken collection records in Hindi. Pushpa 2 earned ₹812 crore net in Hindi, Animal made ₹503 crore, while Chhaava has already made ₹532 crore. This cumulative collection of ₹1850 crore makes Rashmika the highest-grossing Bollywood star in recent times.

How Rashmika Mandanna beat veterans and contemporaries

For years after Priyanka Chopra moved base to the US, Deepika Padukone had been the reigning queen of the Bollywood box office with some competition from Katrina Kaif and Kangana Ranaut. In the next generation, Alia Bhatt has edged ahead of the competition. Yet, none of these stars have been able to match Rashmika’s pace at the box office in the last two years. Deepika has come close with her five films netting over ₹1800 crore in Hindi since 2023. But In the same time period, Alia’s films have made ₹300 crore in India.

Rashmika Mandanna’s 2025 prospects

Many may argue that the success of these films cannot be attributed to Rashmika as the male leads’ stardom had a huge role to play, but the same holds true for almost all of Deepika’s or Kareena’s films in the same period. Rashmika’s becoming one of the first choices for mass films featuring superstars speaks volumes about her growth. The actor now has Salman Khan’s Sikandar lined for release, which will likely take her box office gross further. The 28-year-old also has Maddock’s horror-comedy Thama and pan-India actioner Kubera in her kitty.