With Deepika Padukone and Anushka Sharma not having a release in 2019 and Priyanka Chopra featuring in a solitary non-mainstream film, other actresses made their mark.
Sonakshi Sinha made the most of it, with newer actresses like Kiara Advani and Kriti Sanon scoring as well.
Joginder Tuteja presents the top 15 actresses who sold the most movie tickets in the year gone by.
Sonakshi Sinha
Box office collection: Mission Mangal: Rs 203 crore; Dabangg 3: Rs 150 crore (expected); Kalank: Rs 81 crore; Khaandaani Shafakhaana : Rs 3.83 crore
Total collection: Rs 437.83 crore
The only film centered on her character, Khaandaani Shafakhaana, was a box office disaster.
Sonakshi had a supporting role in the year's biggest flop, Kalank.
She showed spark in Dabangg 3, but her biggest success of 2019 was the multi-starrer, Mission Mangal.
Kiara Advani
Box office collection: Kabir Singh: Rs 278.24 crore; Good Newwz: Rs 150 crore (expected)
Total collection: Rs 428.24 crore
2019 was Kiara Advani's year.
She played a meek character in Kabir Singh, drawing strong reactions from audiences. The film, led by Shahid Kapoor, emerged as an all-time blockbuster.
In Good Newwz, she played a totally contrasting loud character.
Audiences loved her, and the film was a major success.
Kiara also had a cameo in Karan Johar's Kalank.
Kriti Sanon
Box office collection: Housefull 4: Rs 208.50 crore; Luka Chuppi: Rs 95 crore; Panipat: Rs 33.75 crore; Arjun Patiala: Rs 6 crore
Total collection: Rs 343.25 crore
Kriti was the central protagonist alongside Kartik Aaryan in the box office hit, Luka Chuppi.
Arjun Patiala went unnoticed while Panipat was an unfortunate disaster.
Her multi-starrer Housefull 4 made up for it.
Taapsee Pannu
Box office collection: Mission Mangal: Rs 203 crore; Badla : Rs 87.99 crore; Saand Ki Aankh: Rs 23.40 crore; Game Over: Rs 5.50 crore
Total collection: Rs 319.89 crore
Though Mission Mangal will go down as the Rs 200 Crore Club blockbuster where Taapsee was one of the half a dozen characters, she will be happy with the way audiences and the industry responded to her other releases.
Badla was a bonafide superhit, Saand Ki Aankh showed her in strong light and Game Over was a daring piece of work.
Shraddha Kapoor
Box office collection: Chhichhore: Rs 153.09 crore; Saaho (Hindi): Rs 150 crore
Total collection: Rs 303.09 crore
Shraddha had two releases in 2019, and both did quite well.
Chhichhore got great reviews while Saaho was largely panned. But both made money, and that's what eventually counts.
Bhumi Pednekar
Bala: Rs 117 crore; Pati Patni Aur Woh: Rs 90 crore (expected); Saand Ki Aankh: Rs 23.40 crore; Sonchiriya: Rs 6.60 crore
Total collection: Rs 237 crore
Even though Bhumi has had a steady run at the box office ever since her debut Dum Laga Ke Haisha in 2015, it wasn't until 2019 that the industry saw her in a new light.
She had four releases, of which two were major hits, one was decent and one was critically raved about.
Bhumi can pretty much celebrate the fact that she has arrived in the bigger scheme of things.
Madhuri Dixit
Box office collection: Total Dhamaal: Rs 154.23 crore; Kalank: Rs 81 crore
Total collection: Rs 235.23 crore
Indra Kumar, who gave Madhuri hits like Dil and Beta, obviously knew what was best for her. So she scored another hit with him in Total Dhamaal.
Her other release, Kalank, flopped, but there were glimpses of the Madhuri of yore.
Alia Bhatt
Box office collection: Gully Boy: Rs 140 crore; Kalank: Rs 81 crore
Total collection: Rs 221 crore
It was a mixed year for Alia.
While Gully Boy was a hit, Kalank was a major flop.
The only thing that remains consistent are her awesome performances.
Katrina Kaif
Box office collection: Bharat: Rs 211.07 crore
Katrina had only one release in 2019, the Salman Khan-starrer Bharat.
Her character aged gracefully through the film.
Vidya Balan
Box office collection: Mission Mangal: Rs 203 crore
Vidya had the meatiest part amongst the leading ladies of Mission Mangal.
Walking shoulder to shoulder with Akshay Kumar (and sometimes even ahead), she rocked the show and how.
Ananya Pandey
Box office collection: Pati Patni Aur Woh: Rs 90 crore (expected); Student of the Year 2: Rs 73 crore
Total collection: Rs 163 crore
A debutante seldom scores two hits in a single calendar year, but Ananya is an exception.
Her Student of the Year 2 may not have covered much distance, but Pati Patni aur Woh was a clean hit.
Rakul Preet Singh
Box office collection: De De Pyaar De: Rs 103.50 crore; Marjaavaan: Rs 47.78 crore
Total collection: Rs 151.28 crore
Rakul Preet finally scored a major Bollywood hit with De De Pyaar De.
She stood her ground alongside Ajay Devgn and Tabu in the romcom.
In Marjaavaan, she was seen in a totally different avatar.
Kareena Kapoor Khan
Box office collection: Good Newwz: Rs 150 crore (expected)
Kareena stole the show in Good Newwz where she shared the screen with Akshay Kumar, Diljit Dosanjh and Kiara Advani.
She may have had only one release in the year, that too on 2019's last Friday, but Kareena proves there's really no one like her.
Nushrat Bharucha
Box office collection: Dream Girl: Rs 142.26 crore
From Love Sex Aur Dhokha to Dream Girl, it has been a long journey for Nushrat.
Though the film focused on Ayushmann Khurranna, Nushrat brought on the smiles whenever she appeared on screen.
Kangana Ranaut
Box office collection: Manikarnika - The Queen of Jhansi : Rs 92.19 crore; Judgementall Hai Kya: Rs 38.30 crore
Total collection: Rs 130.49 crore
The only leading lady on this list who managed a biggie entirely on her own, Kangana scored well with Manikarnika.
She stepped into a really complex role with Judgementall Hai Kya, and her conviction showed.
Note: All collections as per production and distribution sources.
Joginder Tuteja -- film critic, trade expert, influencer -- can be contacted at movies@rediff-inc.com
