Box Office – Stree 2 is the only ‘stree’ in the Big Boys Club of 500 crores grossers

By Nitin Sharma

In the world of Bollywood dominated by men, here arrives Stree!

Ever since the invention of the 100 Crore Club, there have been only five films which managed to cross the 500 crores mark in a single language. Baahubali: The Conclusion was the first one to do that back in time when it created the 500 Crore Club. Another film from south, KGF: Chapter 2, came close when it crossed the 400 crores mark but fell short of entering the 500 Crore Club.

2023 was a watershed year though when there was a flurry of 500 Crore Club films in the form of Pathaan, Gadar 2, Jawan and Animal. Each one of them crossed the 500 crores mark in just Hindi and since Pathaan and Jawan were also dubbed in south languages, they managed to cross even 550 crores and 600 crores mark respectively.

The common factor? These all films belong to the Big Boys Club.

Each one of these is a testosterone heavy affair, and I am not talking about these being male centric films. Instead, the core theme was centered around show of strength with men calling the shots. They were all action affairs and men reigned their supremacy. Baahubali was a ‘game of thrones’, Pathaan was about one man saving the nation from enemies, Gadar 2 was about a father taking on a country to save his son, Jawan was about a man making his own army and battling the evil, and Animal was about a man taking it upon himself to save his family.

But what did Stree do? She was a misunderstood witch who saved a village from a bunch of misogynists led by a flustered wandering spirit aka Sarkata. Everyone else around her was an accompanying partner who made a fantastic ensemble come to life. But at the core of it all, the film was about women empowerment. There was no testosterone heavy narrative coming into play; instead the storytelling was light and breezy with comedy taking over the centerstage even as witches and spirits fought it out.

That’s where Stree stands out as the lone ‘stree’ amongst the Big Boys Club. This is reflecting in the collections as well where the film is now knocking the doors of all the titles in fray.

Stree 2 – 574 crores (still playing)

Baahubali: The Conclusion (Hindi) – 511 crores

Pathaan (Hindi) – 524.25 crores 

Gadar 2 – 524.45 crores 

Animal (Hindi) – 556.36 crores

Jawan (Hindi) – 584 crores

While Baahubali: The Conclusion, Pathaan,  Gadar 2 and Animal have been crossed in quick time, the ultimate challenge is Jawan which would soon be history too.

Note: All collections as per various box office sources