Mumbai [India], September 14: Hanuman Ansh has turned into one of the biggest box-office surprises of 2026. The spiritual drama based on the life of Neem Karoli Baba has continued its extraordinary run into the sixth week, collecting ₹22.50 crore on its 38th day and taking its worldwide gross to approximately ₹268.05 crore. Made on a reported budget of less than ₹2 crore, the film has delivered an extraordinary return of nearly 140 times its reported production cost.
The Sunday performance was particularly impressive considering that the film is already in its sixth week. Hanuman Ansh recorded around 54 per cent occupancy across 8,902 shows on Day 38, with its collection increasing by 21.6 per cent compared with the previous day’s ₹18.50 crore. The film’s ability to maintain such strong numbers after more than a month in theatres has made its box-office journey increasingly unusual.
What makes the success even more remarkable is the way the film started. Hanuman Ansh did not arrive with a major Bollywood star, a large promotional campaign or a filmmaker with a proven blockbuster record. Its initial theatrical presence was modest, and the film was at one stage reduced to only a few dozen shows. Strong word of mouth gradually changed the situation, bringing more audiences into theatres and encouraging exhibitors to increase its screenings.
The film’s momentum became particularly noticeable from its third week. Instead of following the usual pattern of a sharp decline after the opening weeks, Hanuman Ansh began attracting larger crowds. Its show count eventually climbed back to more than 8,000, even after newer films entered theatres. Several exhibitors reportedly reduced shows of competing releases and restored screenings of Hanuman Ansh after seeing the sustained demand for the devotional drama.
The latest figures also put the film ahead of several much bigger releases in terms of daily performance. On the same Sunday, Hanuman Ansh collected significantly more than Mirzapur: The Movie, which recorded ₹13.25 crore. The contrast has become one of the most striking aspects of the film’s theatrical run because Hanuman Ansh entered the market with a fraction of the resources available to major Bollywood productions.
The film’s success is closely connected to its subject. Hanuman Ansh tells the story of spiritual figure Neem Karoli Baba and has found a strong response among audiences looking for devotional and spiritually themed cinema. The film’s word-of-mouth growth suggests that viewers who connected with the story have played an important role in bringing more people to theatres.
Its financial performance is even more extraordinary when the reported production budget is taken into account. With the film made for less than ₹2 crore and its worldwide gross now around ₹268 crore, the movie has become one of the most profitable Hindi films of recent times. The Indian Express estimates that its earnings are nearly 140 times the reported production cost.
The comparison with big-budget films makes the achievement even clearer. The Dhurandhar franchise, for example, was reportedly made on a combined budget of around ₹250–300 crore and earned more than ten times its investment. Hanuman Ansh, by contrast, has achieved an extraordinary multiple on a production budget that is tiny by mainstream Hindi-film standards.
The film has also joined a wider trend of low-budget spiritual movies finding unexpected audiences. Gujarati film Laalo and Marathi film Deool Band 2 are among the other examples mentioned in the context of strong returns from relatively modest investments. Laalo reportedly earned around ₹120 crore against a budget of about ₹1.5 crore, while Deool Band 2 made around ₹100 crore on a reported budget of ₹8–10 crore.
Another interesting factor in the case of Hanuman Ansh is that its success has continued despite the arrival of high-profile titles. The film recently faced competition from releases including Mirzapur: The Movie, Haiwaan and Last Man in Tower. Its ability to retain audiences while newer films competed for screens demonstrates how strongly word of mouth has influenced its theatrical journey.
The film’s performance is also being closely watched because it challenges the traditional assumption that box-office success requires star power and a massive marketing campaign. Hanuman Ansh has instead built its audience gradually, with the film’s spiritual subject and audience response doing much of the work that large-scale promotion normally does for a commercial release.
With the worldwide collection now crossing ₹268 crore, the film is rapidly approaching the ₹300 crore milestone. Its sixth-week performance has already established it as one of the biggest sleeper hits of the year, and the continued demand suggests that its theatrical run may still have more to offer.
The makers are also reportedly planning the next chapters of the story. According to the latest report, second and third instalments of Hanuman Ansh are in development and are expected to continue the story centred around Neem Karoli Baba.
For a film that reportedly cost less than ₹2 crore to make, the journey from a limited opening to ₹268 crore worldwide is extraordinary. Hanuman Ansh has not only become a major box-office success but has also demonstrated the commercial potential of films that find a strong connection with audiences without relying on conventional Bollywood formulas.
