From 12th Fail To The Kerala Story: These Are The 5 Low Budget Hit Films Of 2023 – The year 2023 proved to be a rough one for cinema fans as many films found it challenging to attract audiences to theaters. Despite this, there were some surprises as a few small-budget productions went on to become box-office blockbusters, defying expectations.
One such surprise hit was The Kerala Story, featuring Adah Sharma, which managed to earn a staggering Rs 300 crore worldwide, even in the face of criticism. On the other hand, some high-budget films like Prabhas’ mythological action-fantasy Adipurush, Emraan Hashmi and Akshay Kumar’s Selfiee, Tiger Shroff’s adrenaline-pumping Ganapath, and a few others struggled to find success at the box office.
As we approach the end of the year, here’s a comprehensive list of small-budget movies that made it big in 2023, and that you might want to catch before the year ends.
From 12th Fail To The Kerala Story: These Are The 5 Low Budget Hit Films Of 2023
Numerous films released in 2023 have demonstrated that a large budget is not always necessary for a film to succeed. Several films released this year were made with a low budget but still managed to perform remarkably well.
These low-budget films of 2023 that performed well include 12th Fail, Zara Hatke-Zara Bachke, Fukrey-3, The Kerala Story, and Dream Girl-2. Let’s examine the earnings and budget of these films.
12th Fail –
12th Fail is a 2023 biographical drama film in the Hindi language, produced, written, and directed by Vidhu Vinod Chopra. The film is based on the non-fiction book of the same name by Anurag Pathak, published in 2019. The story depicts the real-life journey of Manoj Kumar Sharma, who overcame extreme poverty to become an Indian Police Service officer.
The movie features Vikrant Massey in the lead role, along with Medha Shankar, Anant V Joshi, Anshumaan Pushkar, and Priyanshu Chatterjee. “12th Fail” was released in theaters on 27th October 2023 and received critical acclaim. It emerged as a sleeper hit, grossing over ₹64 crore (US$8.0 million) worldwide on a budget of ₹20 crore (US$2.5 million).
#12thFail – Must Watch Film !! 👍pic.twitter.com/ohmaO7x22w
— OTT Gate (@OTTGate) December 28, 2023
Read Also:- 12th Fail Movie Release Date OTT
Zara Hatke Zara Bachke –
Zara Hatke Zara Bachke, which is also known as ZHZB, is a delightful romantic comedy film set to release in 2023. The movie has been written and directed by Laxman Utekar and produced by Maddock Films and Jio Studios.
The film features the talented actors Vicky Kaushal and Sara Ali Khan in the lead roles. The plot of the movie revolves around a married couple who reside in a small town and dream of owning their own house.
The film hit the theatres on the 2nd of June, 2023, and received mixed reviews from the critics. Despite the mixed reviews, Zara Hatke Zara Bachke emerged as a sleeper hit and grossed a whopping ₹115.89 crore worldwide. It’s interesting to note that this amazing movie was made on a budget of ₹40 crore.
#ZaraHatkeZaraBachke refuses to slow down… Weekend 4 is HIGHER than Weekend 3 – a remarkable feat in today’s times, when most films run out of fuel in the initial days itself… [Week 4] Fri 1.35 cr, Sat 2.25 cr, Sun 2.88 cr. Total: ₹ 79.02 cr. #India biz.#ZaraHatkeZaraBachke… pic.twitter.com/41Tlnd4col
— taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) June 26, 2023
Read Also:- Zara Hatke Zara Bachke OTT Release Date
Fukrey 3 –
Fukrey 3 is a Hindi-language comedy film directed by Mrighdeep Singh Lamba and produced by Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani under the banner of Excel Entertainment. The film is the third installment of the Fukrey franchise and the sequel to Fukrey Returns released in 2017. The movie features an ensemble cast of Pulkit Samrat, Varun Sharma, Manjot Singh, Richa Chadha, and Pankaj Tripathi.
Fukrey 3 was released theatrically on 28 September 2023 and collected a total net of ₹8.82 crore (US$1.1 million) on its opening day in India. As of 19 October 2023, the film has grossed ₹115.06 crore (US$14 million) in India, with a further ₹13.31 crore (US$1.7 million) overseas, bringing the worldwide total to ₹128.37 crore (US$16 million). As per certain sources, the estimated budget of ‘Fukrey 3’ is around ₹ 8 Crore.
#Fukrey3
Wholesome entertainment #PankajTripathi #RichaChadha #VarunSharma #PulkitSamrat #ManjotSingh teamed up perfectly to tickle the funny bones and leave everyone rolling on the floors pic.twitter.com/9PmV7iroDV— NITESH KUMAR (@KumarNikstwiter) December 28, 2023
Read Also:- Fukrey 3 Day 16 Box Office Collection
The Kerala Story –
The Kerala Story is a 2023 Indian Hindi-language drama film directed by Sudipto Sen and produced by Vipul Amritlal Shah. It stars Adah Sharma, Yogita Bihani, Sonia Balani, and Siddhi Idnani.
The plot follows a group of women from Kerala who are forced to convert to Islam and join the Islamic State. Promoted as a true story, the film is based on the Hindutva conspiracy theory of “Love Jihad”. It falsely claims that thousands of Hindu women from Kerala have been converted to Islam and recruited by the Islamic State.
The Kerala Story was released in theaters on 5 May 2023. With a worldwide gross of ₹303.97 crore (US$38 million), it became the fifth-highest-grossing Hindi film of 2023.
The incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party heavily promoted it, which leveraged the film in its campaign for the Karnataka Assembly elections. However, film critics gave it overwhelmingly negative reviews, labeling the work as Islamophobic propaganda. The film has also faced lengthy lawsuits and protests mainly in Kerala, West Bengal, and Tamil Nadu.
#NewProfilePic @adah_sharma @sudiptoSENtlm @thekeralastory #TheKeralaStoryTrailer #TheKeralaStoryAMustWatch #TheKerlaStory pic.twitter.com/Uv7sCwn1Vi
— The Kerala Story (@thekeralastory) May 8, 2023
Read Also:- Kerala Story OTT Release Date
Dream Girl 2 –
Dream Girl 2 is a 2023 Indian Hindi-language comedy-drama movie that follows the story of a man who cross-dresses and disguises himself as a woman, leading to a lot of chaos and confusion. This film is directed by Raaj Shaandilyaa, produced by Ekta Kapoor and Shobha Kapoor under Balaji Motion Pictures, and is a spiritual sequel to the 2019 film Dream Girl.
The film stars Ayushmann Khurrana, a talented actor, alongside an ensemble supporting cast that includes Ananya Panday, Paresh Rawal, Annu Kapoor, Rajpal Yadav, Vijay Raaz, Asrani, Abhishek Banerjee, Manjot Singh, and Seema Pahwa. The movie takes the audience on a roller-coaster ride of emotions as they witness the hilarious and chaotic situations that arise due to the protagonist’s cross-dressing.
Principal photography for the movie began in August 2022 and ended in March 2023. Finally, it was released theatrically on 25 August 2023, receiving mixed reviews from critics.
However, despite the mixed reviews, the film proved to be a commercial success, grossing ₹140 crore worldwide, thus emerging as the eleventh-highest-grossing Hindi film of the year 2023.
I saw #Dreamgirl2 today. How amazing was @ayushmannk in it!!!? Even girls aren’t as graceful as he was in it. Adaayein bhi hai, nazaaqat bhi hai, shararat bhi hai…~❤️
Kudos to the dialogue writer of this film. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 I laughed so much watching a movie after so long. LOVED! pic.twitter.com/XKJUkCSNLI
— Dip (@sixtymllove) December 22, 2023
Read Also:- Dream Girl 2 OTT Release Date
