August turned into a blockbuster month at the box office with Coolie emerging as the undisputed winner, clinching the title of highest grosser. Malayalam movies also stole the spotlight with multiple Mollywood titles securing spots in the month’s top 10 films, underscoring the industry’s growing pull among audiences nationwide.
Coolie emerged as the top film in August with a gross box office of Rs 325 crore across languages, and it has become the third-highest grosser of 2025, behind Hindi films Chhaava and Saiyaara, according to media consulting firm Ormax estimates. War 2 with Rs 283 crore earnings became the second highest grosser of the month, with the film's Hindi version contributing more than 75 percent to the overall business.
Hindi and Malayalam releases dominated the list of August's top 10 films, with four and three films respectively.
The success of the Onam releases, Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra and Hridayapoorvam, has boosted Malayalam language's share from 8 percent between January-July to 10 percent January-August, bringing it back to the 2024 level, which was the best-ever year for Malayalam cinema.
The currently trending Malayalam movie Lokah: Chapter 1 – Chandra has set new benchmarks for Malayalam cinema, emerging as the biggest film of the year with over 50 percent pan-India occupancy till September 11, Kamal Gianchandani, Chief Business Strategy Officer, PVR INOX had said in an earlier Moneycontrol story.
In its opening week, the film averaged over 95 percent occupancy across screenings, from early morning shows to late-night and even post-midnight screenings, particularly around Onam holidays, Ashish Saksena, COO (Chief Operating Officer), Cinemas, BookMyShow, had pointed out.
The movie sold almost 4 million tickets across key markets on BookMyShow until September 12, becoming the third-fastest Malayalam title to surpass both the 2 million and 3 million ticket sales milestones, he added. "While occupancy has since stabilised at steady levels, the film continues to sustain audience interest, bolstered by strong word-of-mouth and repeat viewings."
While War 2 is topping the charts, the film has underperformed due to its high budget of Rs 300-400 crore. Yet, Hindi continues to maintain 40 percent share of the India box office, in line with last year.
With the addition of War 2, Hindi language now has six films in the list of 2025’s top 10 highest-grossing films, excluding the multi-lingual animated feature Mahavatar Narsimha.
Also, the top 10 highest grossing films in August features two Gujarati releases, Vash Level 2 and Bachu Ni Benpani, with the former earning about 50 percent of its box office from the Hindi dubbed version, aided by the success of Hindi remake Shaitaan of the first film in the series.
After a strong business in July 2025, the Indian box office sustained momentum in August, grossing Rs 1,136 crore, including projected future collections of August releases still running in theatres. Coolie, War 2, and Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra were the major contributors, accounting for nearly 70 percent of the month’s total box office earnings between them.
In July, the box office business stood at Rs 1,483 crore, highest business so far this year.
The cumulative box office for 2025 releases stands at Rs 8,370 crore, which is 21 percent higher than the same period in 2024.
Ormax estimates 2025 has a good chance of grossing more than Rs 12,000 crore, and is in the running to become the best-ever year at the Indian box office, a record currently held by 2023, at Rs 12,226 crore.
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