As the first half of 2025 concludes, box office reports highlight winners and losers in Indian cinema. While several big-budget films dominated revenue charts, a small Tamil film called Tourist Family quietly emerged as the most profitable Indian film of the year so far, delivering a record-breaking 1200% profit.
A Sleeper Hit With No Big Names
Directed by Abishan Jeevanth, Tourist Family had a modest production budget of only ₹7 crore. Despite lacking star power, the film resonated strongly with audiences. It featured M. Sadi Kumar, Simran, Mithun Jayashankar, and Kamlesh Jagan in lead roles.
The film grossed over ₹90 crore globally, making it the most profitable Indian movie of 2025, based purely on return-on-investment.
Strong Word of Mouth Boosted Earnings
Released on April 29, Tourist Family opened with a decent ₹23 crore in the first week, but its popularity surged in the second week thanks to glowing reviews and positive word of mouth, pulling in another ₹29 crore.
After five weeks, the film ended its run with:
₹90 crore global gross
₹62 crore domestic revenue
1200% ROI on its ₹7 crore budget
Comparing with Big Budget Blockbusters
Other films made waves at the box office, but couldn’t match Tourist Family in terms of profit percentage:
Chhava, a big-budget epic, became the highest-grossing Indian film of the year with ₹808 crore worldwide, but its ₹90 crore budget meant a profit margin of 800%, still lower than Tourist Family.
Aamir Khan’s Sitaare Zameen Par earned ₹260 crore on a ₹65 crore budget, giving it a 300% profit.
Sikandar and Housefull 5, despite earning over ₹300 crore, struggled to generate profits due to their massive production costs.
Regional Cinema Shines in 2025
Several regional films also delivered high profits:
Thadaram (Malayalam): 720% profit
Dragon (Tamil): 300% profit
Sankranthiki Vaastavam (Telugu): 300% profit on a ₹60 crore budget
This shows a clear trend: small-to-mid budget films with strong content are outperforming high-budget spectacles in profitability.
A New Era for Low-Budget Indian Films
Tourist Family proves that you don’t need big names or massive budgets to make a blockbuster. With strong storytelling and audience connection, even a ₹7 crore film can outshine ₹90 crore giants.
As the Indian film industry moves forward, producers may now look beyond star power and focus more on content, thanks to success stories like this.
