Bollywood movies are becoming very popular, very quickly, and these highest grossing worldwide Bollywood movies might just surprise. Featuring both young and old movies, there are some real classics on here, all with box office figures that will make your eyes water. They’re the highest-grossing Indian films for a reason — they’re great!

1 – Dangal

• Year of release: 2016 
• Box office: $310 million 

Source: YouTube

The English translation is “Wrestling competition” and it’s a sports drama biography movie, based on an amateur wrestler called Mahavir Singh Phogat. In the movie, and in real life, the wrestler trains both of his daughters to become wrestlers too. Starring big names such as Aamir Khan, Sakshi Tanwar, Fatima Sana Shaikh, and more, it earned over $310 million at the box office.

2 – Baahubali 2: The Conclusion

• Year of release: 2017 
• Box office: $267 million 

Source: YouTube

This film is also known by the abbreviation, BB2, and, in English, translates as “The One with Strong Arms: The Conclusion”. Following on from Baahubali: The Beginning, it not only forms the sequel, but also the prequel to the movie, originally made in Tamil and Telugu. It wasn’t long before it was dubbed with a number of other languages, including English, Japanese and Hindi.

3 – Mughal-e-Azam

• Year of release: 1960 
• Box office: $187 million 

Source: IMDb

This Hindi historical epic drama translates into English as “The Great Mughal”, and follows the story of a great love affair that happened between a man who went on to become Emperor Jahangir, and a court dancer. It held the distinction of being the highest grossed Indian movie for 15 years before it was beaten, and at the time, it created hype that had never been seen before. In fact, it was so well loved that it became the first digitally colored black and white Hindi movie.

4 – Gunga Jumna

• Year of release: 1961
• Box office: $186 million

Source: YouTube

We’re on to crime drama snow with Gunga Jumna, a movie that was released in 1961 and loved for its rustic settings. The release of the movie was actually delayed by over six months when it was eventually premiered in January of that year, and it earned massive following throughout the sixties. Being quite controversial, it even established itself as a cult classic. Focusing on sibling rivalry, we’re sure it’s a theme that many could have related to.

5 – Disco Dancer

• Year of release: 1982 
• Box office: $185 million 

Source: YouTube

This fabulous drama music was a Bollywood favorite, released in Hindi, telling the beautiful story of rags-to-riches and following the life of a performer on the streets. It was a film that received success across the globe, and even received awards in various parts of the world, including China. It even became the Soviet Union’s most successful movie in 1984, smashing targets with over sixty million viewers.

6 – Bobby

• Year of release: 1973
• Box office: $172 million 

Source: Alumni Club of Anna University

It’s another musical but this time a Hindi romance musical, Bobby was released in 1973 and was the highest grossing Indian movie of the year. It was a blockbuster too, becoming a sensation in the Soviet Union, just like Disco Dancer. Bobby is now classed as one of the ‘Top 25 Must See Bollywood Movies’.

7 – Sholay

• Year of release: 1975 
• Box office: $159 million 

Source: News18.com

An action adventure movie released in Hindi, the 1975 hit, Sholay, follows the life and times of two people heavily involved in the criminal underworld. It was recorded over close to three years and has gained critical and award acclaim, known as a must-see in the world of Indian films. It was a record-breaker too, despite receiving rather harsh and negative reviews initially.

8 – Mother India

• Year of release: 1957 
• Box office: $143 million 

Source: Upperstall.com

It’s a drama film, and this time a Hindi epic drama. It’s actually a remake of an old 1940’s movie too, called Aurat. A story of a single mother in poverty, it was one of the most expensive to film, and also earned some of the highest revenues ever seen from Hindi movies. Even to this day, it remains a favorite and has won a number of prestigious awards.

9 – PK (Peekay)

• Year of release: 2014
• Box office: $140 million

Source: Bollywood in Photos – blogger

A sci-fi/comedy, PK stars Aamir Khan, once again, and as well as receiving some of the best reviews, it is was known as THE highest grossing Indian movie of all time, at the time. It has, of course, since been surpassed, but the story of the alien who landed on earth definitely had audiences captivated. It was the first Indian movie to ever surpass $100 (US) million at the box office and is now considered as the third highest-grossing movie from India ever. Not bad going, right?

10 – Phool Aur Patthar

• Year of release: 1966 
• Box office: $128 million 

Source: Pinterest

The highest-grossing movie of 1966 was Phool Aur Patthar, translating to English as “Flower and Rock”. Despite fights during the shooting of the movie between the director and Dharmendra, it became a great hit, even catapulting Dharmendra to impressive heights of fame.

** All figures correct as of end 2016 & sourced here.