It was a remarkable year for Bollywood with a record number of movies entering the Rs 100 Crore Club.
With Good Newwz set to achieve this feat as well, 2019 will go down as a year with as many as 17 films going past the century mark.
Joginder Tuteja presents the Top 10 hits of the year.
War
Box office collections: Rs 318 crore
The year's biggest grosser is War.
Though there were major expectations from the film, pitched as a face-off between Hrithik Roshan and Tiger Shroff, not many would have thought it would emerge as the top money spinner of the year.
But the big screen feel, slick production values, presence of two major stars and mind blowing action did the trick and how.
Kabir Singh
Box office collections: Rs 278.24 crore
Shahid Kapoor hadn't scored a solo release in the Rs 100 Crore Club film in the past and with Kabir Singh, he came close to hitting a triple century no less.
The film took a huge start and continued to grow from strength to strength with each passing day.
The controversy and debate around its content only enhanced its hype, resulting in an all-time blockbuster.
Uri: The Surgical Strike
Box office collections: Rs 244.20 crore
Never before has a film opened less than Rs 10 crore on Friday and then stay solid enough to hit a double century.
But that's exactly what happened to Aditya Dhar's Uri, which opened with Rs 8.20 crore and then just did not stop until it went past the Rs 200 crore milestone.
The Vicky Kaushal starrer had the josh to continue much longer, and went on to win National Awards.
Bharat
Box office collections: Rs 211.07 crore
Salman Khan's Eid release Bharat was expected to be a Rs 300 crore blockbuster.
Even though the film opened huge with Rs 42.30 crore, the momentum did not continue for long.
The Salman Khan-Katrina Kaif starrer had everything going for it with Director Ali Abbas Zafar calling the shots.
The film saw a mixed response and just about crossed the Rs 200 crore milestone.
Housefull 4
Box office collection: Rs 208.50 crore
Negative word-of-mouth and critical backlash made it look like Housefull 4 would finish at just a little over the Rs 100 crore mark.
But Akshay Kumar's comedy made sure to enter the Rs 200 Crore Club.
Producer Sajid Nadiadwala's conviction in the subject paid off well.
Mission Mangal
Box office collection: Rs 203 crore
This one had winner written all over it.
The core subject of Mission Mangal was quite enticing and a credible cast of Akshay Kumar, Vidya Balan, Nithya Menen, Sonakshi Sinha, Taapsee Pannu, Kriti Kulhari and Sharman Joshi came together in this Balki produced film.
Director Jagan Shakti did justice to the film and ensured that it had a lot of entertainment.
Kesari
Box office collection: Rs 154.41 crore
With Akshay Kumar and Karan Johar joining hands for Kesari, it was a given that the film would emerge as a larger-than-life entertainer.
Based on a true story, it struck a chord amongst audiences.
The film opened well, sustained and ended up with a lifetime haul of over Rs 150 crore.
Total Dhamaal
Box office collection: Rs 154.23 crore
Indra Kumar's multi-starrer was hilarious.
A good cast of Ajay Devgn, Anil Kapoor, Madhuri Dixit and Riteish Deshmukh made its success even bigger.
Chhichhore
Box office collection: Rs 153.09 crore
Chhichhore was a surprise success at the box office.
After a decent start of Rs 7.32 crore, this Sajid Nadiadwala and Nitesh Tiwari film continued to do very good business.
This is Sushant Singh Rajput's biggest earner till date.
Good Newwz
Box office collection: Rs 150 crore+ (expected)
The year ended on a winning note with Good Newwz bringing good news for all.
The film carried a good buzz from the time the promo hit the screens.
The content turned out to be entertaining as well and ensured a healthy weekend at the box office.
Note: Saaho (Hindi) did a business of Rs 150 crores and Dabangg 3 could close around Rs 150 crore. Eventually, either Good Newwz, Saaho or Dabangg 3 will occupy the #10 slot.
Joginder Tuteja is a film critic, trade expert and an influencer. Joginder can be contacted at movies@rediff-inc.com
