After three decades in Hindi cinema, 2025 has emerged as a defining year for Akshaye Khanna. With two major releases dominating the box office, the actor has become the first Indian performer after Shah Rukh Khan to see his films collectively gross more than ₹2000 crore worldwide in a single calendar year.
The milestone comes on the back of Akshaye&rsquo;s performances in two films where he played the antagonist, both of which went on to become the highest earning Hindi releases of the year. The achievement places him in rare territory previously occupied only by the Khans, underlining a late career peak few could have predicted.
The run began early in the year with Laxman Utekar&rsquo;s historical drama Chhaava, led by Vicky Kaushal. Akshaye&rsquo;s portrayal of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb drew critical acclaim, while the film went on to collect ₹809 crore globally, holding the title of the year&rsquo;s highest grossing Indian film for several months.
The momentum only grew stronger in December with Aditya Dhar&rsquo;s spy thriller Dhurandhar. Despite a star heavy cast featuring Ranveer Singh, Sanjay Dutt, R. Madhavan and Arjun Rampal, Akshaye&rsquo;s turn as gangster Rehman Dakait emerged as one of the film&rsquo;s biggest talking points. Strong word of mouth pushed Dhurandhar to become the most successful Hindi film domestically, with global earnings touching ₹1167 crore and still counting.
Together, Chhaava and Dhurandhar have now crossed the ₹2000 crore mark in 2025, a benchmark previously achieved only once before. In 2023, Shah Rukh Khan&rsquo;s Pathaan, Jawan and Dunki had jointly earned ₹2685 crore worldwide, setting an unprecedented standard for a single year.
Other leading stars have come close but fallen short of the figure within a calendar year. Prabhas and Allu Arjun saw Baahubali 2 and Pushpa 2 cross ₹1700 crore each, while Ranbir Kapoor could still enter the race with his upcoming releases Ramayana and Love &amp; War. Aamir Khan did cross ₹2000 crore with Dangal, but over two years due to staggered international releases.
For Akshaye Khanna, the feat marks a rare blend of critical respect and commercial dominance, firmly establishing 2025 as the year he joined an elite box office club once thought exclusive to the biggest superstars.

Chhaava and Dhurandhar power a rare box office feat achieved earlier only by SRK

Akshaye Khanna enters ₹2000 crore club

Chhaava and Dhurandhar power a rare box office feat achieved earlier only by SRK

January 3, 2026 | 23:18 IST