In terms of box office success, South Indian Industry has surpassed Bollywood by a wide margin by the year 2022. This year, only one Bollywood film broke the $400 million mark, while four South Indian films did so: RRR, KGF-2, Vikram, and Ponniyin Selvan: Part One.
The list below includes the best south Indian films that generated a lot of excitement before their releases and then dominated the box office. In addition to the original English versions, many of these movies also saw success in dubbed Hindi versions, which were wildly popular with northern audiences and ultimately surpassed the careers of Bollywood superstars. Also included are films that benefited financially from positive word of mouth among moviegoers. Check out the top 15 South Indian films of 2022 based on critical acclaim, audience response, and financial success.
RRR, the masterwork of director S.S. Rajamouli, caused a box office frenzy. With Rajamouli's reputation as a filmmaker with a "Midas touch," it was expected that RRR would do well financially. After its March 2022 debut, it quickly rose to the top of the box office (BO) charts and stayed there until Yash's KGF-2 surpassed it with its own massive earnings.
IMDb Rating: 8/10
Box Office Collection (WW): 1140 Cr (including Japan)
Following the success of the first film, Prashanth Neel's direction team generated a great deal of anticipation for the sequel's release all over India. After being released across the entire country in a number of different languages, it quickly became the highest-grossing movie of 2022, the second-highest-grossing movie in India, and the third-highest-grossing Indian film in the history of the world. The third installment in the KGF series is also in production.
IMDb Rating: 8.4/10
Box Office Collection (WW): 1208 Cr
Ponniyin Selvan, part one of Mani Ratnam's long-awaited dream project, made its debut that September of 2022. As a result of its overwhelming success in theaters, it now ranks as the highest-grossing Tamil film of all time. Multiple box office records were set and shattered. Release date for the sequel, titled "Part 2" or "PS2," is set for the summer of 2023.
IMDb Rating: 8.1/10
Box Office Collection (WW): 488.36 Cr
Kamal Haasan, better known by his stage name Ulganayagan, plays the title role in the "Vikram" Tamil action thriller. The film was shown all over India and became the third highest-grossing Tamil film of all time. Fahadh Faasil, Vijay Sethupathi, and Haasan, three of the most powerful actors in South Indian cinema, star in it. Suriya makes a brief appearance as well.
IMDb Rating: 8.4/10
Box Office Collection (WW): 414.43 Cr
On September 30th, the critically acclaimed film Kantara was released. The film broke box office records across India and is now the highest-grossing Kannada film of all time, only behind KGF2. All three of Rishab Shetty's hands are in the filmmaking, acting, and scripting. Hombale films, the company behind last year's monster hit KGF 2, provided the funding for this. It's also at the top of the list of the 250 best Indian movies on IMDb.
IMDb Rating: 9.1/10
Box Office Collection (WW): 407.82 Cr
Box Office Collection (WW): 32.13 Cr
"Valimai," starring Thala Ajith Kumar, is an action thriller that returns the superstar to theaters after more than two years. Produced by Boney Kapoor for Zee Studios and Bayview Projects LLP, with direction and script by H. Vinoth. The movie was praised by critics for its impressive stunts and stellar acting.
IMDb Rating: 6/10
Box Office Collection (WW): 164.5
A comedy adventure starring Rakshit Shetty, 777 The modest film generated over 100 crores at the box office, yielding enormous returns for its backers. The small film made huge profits for those who invested in it and went on to churn out over 100 crores at the box office. It was backed by G.S. Gupta and Rakshit Shetty under Paramvah Studios.
IMDb Rating: 8.9/10
Box Office Collection (WW): 102.75
To put it simply, Karthikeya 2 is the follow-up to the critically acclaimed film of the same name from 2014. Chandoo Mondeti helms and wrote the film, and Abhishek Agarwal, who produced The Kashmir Files, provided funding. The Telugu and Hindi dubs proved to be the most popular, but the film was a smash hit across the entire country. The film's success at the box office was propelled by enthusiastic word of mouth.
IMDb Rating: 7.9/10
Box Office Collection (WW): 117.87
The performance, story, and visuals of the Telugu period romance film Sita Ramam were praised by critics. Hanu Raghavapudi directed the film, which stars Dulquer Salman, Mrunal Thakur (in his Telugu debut), and Rashmika Mandanna.
IMDb Rating: 8.5/10
Box Office Collection (WW): 92.75 Cr
Thiruchitrambalam, a romantic comedy in Tamil, premiered on August 18. It was a smashing success at the box office, earning well over 100 crores. It was a critical success as well. Mithran R. Jawahar is the director, and Sun Pictures, owned by Kalanithi Maran, is behind the project.
IMDb Rating: 7.9/10
Box Office Collection (WW): 117.2 Cr
The action drama Etharkkum Thunindhavan (or ET) stars Suriya. It premiered on March 10, 2022, and was a commercial and critical success. It was lauded for its acting, background music, cinematography, and action scenes.
IMDb Rating: 6.5/10
Box Office Collection (WW): 71.4 Cr
The life of Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan serves as the inspiration for this action biopic. It features prominent performances from Adivi Sesh, Prakash Raj, Sobhita Dhulipala, and Saiee Manjrekar. The movie is dubbed in two languages, Telugu and Hindi.
IMDb Rating: 8.2/10
Box Office Collection (WW): 58.2 Cr
Sivakarthikeyan, of "Doctor" fame, stars in this lighthearted coming-of-age film. The story revolves around a non-enthusiastic engineering major. Produced by Sivakarthikeyan and Allirajah Subaskaran and directed and written by Cibi Chakravarthi.
IMDb Rating: 8.2/10
Box Office Collection (WW): 114 Cr
Fans of Tamil cinema flocked to see "Love Today," a smashing success that opened to critical acclaim and saw its business grow as word of mouth spread. In response to the film's success at the Tamil box office, it has now been dubbed for a Telugu release. Starring a newcomer, Pradeep Ranganathan, this is also his second time behind the camera.
IMDb Rating: 9.1/10
Box Office Collection (WW): 83.55 Cr
Samantha plays the title character in the film Yashoda, which focuses on women. Even though critics were divided upon the film's release, it was a financial success. The film was directed by Hari-Harish and produced by Sridevi Movies' Siva Kumar Krishna Prasad.
IMDb Rating: 7.3/10
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