5 Akshay Kumar’s Most Expensive Movies: Big Budgets, Bigger Expectations
A look at Akshay Kumar’s five most expensive films, from the Rs 570 crore sci-fi epic 2.0 to Ram Setu, and how their massive budgets translated, or didn’t, into box office success.
2.0 (2018): Rs 570 Crore
Akshay Kumar's most expensive film to date is still S Shankar's sci-fi outing 2.0, made on a budget that crossed Rs 570 crore. Akshay played the villain opposite Rajinikanth in the lead, and the film went on to pull in over Rs 690 crore globally, turning into a massive hit despite the sheer scale of money poured into it.
Bade Miyan Chote Miyan (2024): Rs 350 Crore
Ali Abbas Zafar's action entertainer came with a Rs 350 crore price tag, with a large part of that going toward the lead actors' fees and big action set pieces. Unlike 2.0 though, this one didn't recover its costs, ending up with a box office haul of around Rs 108 crore.
Housefull 5 (2025): Rs 225 Crore
The fifth outing in the Housefull franchise took the series' budget to a new high of Rs 225 crore, making it the priciest comedy film India has produced so far. A chunk of that cost came from shooting portions of the film on a cruise ship out in international waters over 90 days. The film brought in close to Rs 289 crore worldwide, with an average response overall.
Sarfira / Sooryavanshi Era Films: Rs 150-165 Crore Range
A few of Akshay's cop-universe and action films from recent years also fall in the Rs 150 to 165 crore range, and they follow a familiar pattern, big-scale, effects-heavy films built around his action-hero image, with results at the box office swinging depending on how the content landed and when the film was released.
Ram Setu (2022): Rs 150 Crore
Abhishek Sharma's mythology-adventure drama came with a budget of around Rs 150 crore and starred Akshay alongside Jacqueline Fernandez and Nushrratt Bharuccha. Despite the scale of the production, it didn't work at the box office, managing only around Rs 92 crore worldwide and ending up labelled a flop.
