Bollywood actor Akshaye Khanna has achieved a remarkable milestone in 2025, becoming only the second Indian actor after Shah Rukh Khan whose films collectively grossed over ₹2,000 crore in a single calendar year at the global box office. His standout performances in two major releases helped propel him into this elite box office club.
Khanna riding high on Chhaava and Dhurandar’s success
Khanna’s successful year kicked off with the historical action drama Chhaava, directed by Laxman Utekar, in which he portrayed Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. The film, which had Vicky Kaushal in the lead, was a major commercial hit, reportedly earning around ₹809 crore worldwide, making it one of the highest-grossing Indian films of the year.
Later in the year, Khanna delivered another major box office success with the spy thriller Dhurandhar, directed by Aditya Dhar. In this film, he took on the role of Pakistani gangster Rehman Dakait, starring alongside Ranveer Singh and an ensemble cast including Sanjay Dutt, R Madhavan and Arjun Rampal. Dhurandhar garnered widespread attention and strong audience support, ultimately grossing approximately ₹1,167 crore globally. The film is expected to add over ₹25 crore to that by the end of Saturday, as per multiple reports.
With the combined gross of these two films crossing the ₹2,000-crore mark, Khanna has joined an exclusive group. Before him, only Shah Rukh Khan had achieved this feat, with his 2023 releases Pathaan, Jawan and Dunki collectively earning about ₹2,685 crore worldwide.
Khanna beats Prabhas and Allu Arjun
While other Indian stars such as Prabhas and Allu Arjun have delivered massive box office hits, including films that have individually crossed high revenue thresholds, none have reached the ₹2,000 crore single-year milestone in the same way.
Prabhas’ ‘Baahubali 2’ and Allu Arjun’s ‘Pushpa 2’ both earned over ₹1,700 crore globally but fell short of the combined figure required to enter this specific club.
Ranbir Kapoor may have a chance to reach the mark with two mega releases this year in ‘Ramayana’ and ‘Love & War’ but Khanna’s 2025 stands out as a defining year in his long and diverse career.
