September 2, 2026: Hanuman Ansh has gone from a quiet theatrical release to one of the year’s most unexpected box-office stories. The Vishal Chaturvedi-directed spiritual drama opened to just Rs 10 lakh, but instead of fading away, it steadily built momentum through word of mouth and has now crossed the Rs 50 crore nett mark in India.
The spiritual drama, which opened on August 7 without a major star or an aggressive promotional campaign, started with a modest Rs 10 lakh on its opening day. For the first couple of weeks, there was little indication that the film would become a theatrical success. Its daily numbers remained in the Rs 1.4 crore to Rs 1.48 crore range.
Then the conversation around the film began to change. Positive word of mouth gradually brought more viewers into theatres, giving Hanuman Ansh an unusual second wind. The film collected around Rs 10.40 crore in its third week, and its momentum only grew from there. By day 24, it had registered its biggest single-day collection of Rs 12.75 crore.
The bigger surprise came on day 26. Hanuman Ansh earned Rs 8.50 crore that day, putting its single-day performance ahead of Yash’s much larger Toxic, which earned less on the same day.
The film has now crossed the Rs 50 crore nett mark in India, with reported collections standing at Rs 54.13 crore nett and Rs 63.82 crore gross. For a film that entered theatres with comparatively little noise, the numbers tell a story of an audience that arrived late but stayed interested.
And actor-politician Kangana Ranaut has added her voice to that growing conversation.
Kangana Ranaut calls Hanuman Ansh more than a film
Kangana Ranaut recently praised Hanuman Ansh on Instagram, sharing a picture of Neem Karoli Baba, the spiritual figure whose life and teachings inspire the film.
Rather than reviewing the performances or its box-office performance, Kangana described the experience in spiritual terms, calling Hanuman Ansh “not a movie; it’s a satsang”. She also encouraged her followers to watch it, framing the film as an experience built around stories of people who had encountered Neem Karoli Baba.
That endorsement is notable because Hanuman Ansh has largely grown through personal recommendations rather than the conventional machinery surrounding a big theatrical release.
The response also fits the film’s unusual appeal. Chaturvedi does not attempt to turn Neem Karoli Baba’s life into a conventional larger-than-life biographical spectacle. Instead, the film leans into anecdotes, faith and encounters with the divine, allowing its spiritual subject to remain at the centre.
Whether that approach works will depend heavily on the viewer. Audiences looking for a traditional commercial drama may find the film deliberately slow and meditative. But for viewers receptive to its spiritual storytelling, that restraint appears to have become part of the attraction.
The box-office turnaround has arrived at a particularly interesting point for the makers. Hanuman Ansh ends with an indication that Neem Karoli Baba’s story will continue, and Chaturvedi has now confirmed that work on the next instalment is underway.
Speaking during an interaction with audiences at a multiplex in Agra, the filmmaker revealed that the sequel will explore further chapters from the spiritual leader’s life.
The next film is expected to trace his journey through places connected to him, beginning with Firozabad, his birthplace, and moving towards Agra, Mathura and other locations.
The plan is not an afterthought created by the film’s success. When Hanuman Ansh was announced on February 20, 2026, the project was presented as the first part of a planned trilogy. The franchise draws from Chaturvedi’s book Divine Detour, with Shobhinaw Satyaa playing Neem Karoli Baba, popularly known as Maharaj-ji.
That makes the current theatrical run more significant for the makers. A film conceived as the opening chapter of a larger spiritual saga has managed to establish an audience without relying on the conventional ingredients of a mainstream franchise.
The most interesting part of Hanuman Ansh may not be its Rs 50 crore milestone itself. It is the route the film took to reach it.
The film did not dominate the pre-release conversation. It did not have a star-driven opening to fall back on. And its initial numbers suggested a fairly limited theatrical run.
Instead, the film behaved like an old-fashioned word-of-mouth release. Viewers who connected with it recommended it to others, and those recommendations appear to have gradually expanded its reach.
Filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar also noticed the shift, praising the film’s direction and Satyaa’s portrayal of Neem Karoli Baba. He described its success as an important example for an industry accustomed to measuring theatrical potential through budgets, stars and opening-day numbers.
That makes Hanuman Ansh an interesting case study, particularly at a time when theatrical success is increasingly expected to announce itself before release. Here, the audience came first. And Kangana’s endorsement has given the film another burst of visibility at a stage when most releases would already be fading from the box-office conversation.
What Hanuman Ansh is really selling
At its heart, Hanuman Ansh follows a grieving boy who seeks a way to reconnect with his dead mother and eventually encounters the divine through Neem Karoli Baba. The film uses stories of service, compassion, food and faith to build its portrait of the spiritual leader.
Shobhinaw Satyaa leads the cast, with Chandan Anand, Purnima Tiwari and Vihaan Shedge in supporting roles. The film may not appeal to everyone, and its deliberately devotional approach leaves little room for the conventional thrills of a mainstream commercial release. But that is also what makes its box-office story worth watching.
Hanuman Ansh did not change its identity to find an audience. The audience eventually came around to what the film was offering. With the sequel now in development, the real question is no longer whether Hanuman Ansh can survive at the box office. It is whether the unexpected audience that discovered the first chapter will return when Neem Karoli Baba’s story continues.