Movies from India featuring megastars with a global appeal, coupled with the backing of affluent production houses, reaped millions of ticket sales around the globe in 2017.
The Indian film industry grew 27 percent last year due to box office growth in both domestic and international markets, according to a report by EY and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry. In 2017, box office collections for Indian films overseas stood at $367 million — up almost three times from the year before, and earnings may rise to $411 million in 2020 — up by 12 percent from 2017, according to the report.
At 41%, overseas screenings in 2017 were highest in the U.S. where Indian films earn showings at more mainstream theaters, as depicted in the chart below.
Regal, one of the largest movie theater chains in the U.S., screened an average of 200 Indian movies annually in the past four years, said Rob Westerling, head film buyer for the company.”In 2017, Baahubali 2 was the most successful Bollywood movie to date for Regal, playing on our screens for a total of 12 weeks,” Westerling said. “With strong demand like this from such a passionate movie-going audience, Bollywood films will continue to be an important part of our business.”
Last updated: December 26th, 2025
