Year-Ender 2024: Amaran To Pushpa 2, 10 Highest-Grossing South Indian Films Of The Year

South Indian movies started gaining more popularity since the release of Prabhas starrer pan-India film Baahubali (2015) which was the biggest hit. Since then South Indian films have ruled audiences' hearts with their original plots, Hollywood-level production quality, and popular actors. Like previous year, 2024 has also been a year of South films that broke several records at the box office.

Mega hits like Kalki 2898 AD, Hanu-Man, The Greatest of All Time and Pushpa 2: The Rule are the highest-grossing South-Indian films of 2024.

Top 10 South-Indian Highest Grossing Films of 2024

Kalki 2898 AD

Directed by Nag Ashwin, Kalki 2898 AD is one of the biggest releases of 2024 with a stellar ensemble cast of A-listers from Bollywood and South India. The sci-fi epic starred Amitabh Bachchan, Prabhas, Deepika Padukone, and Kamal Haasan among others. Set in the post-apocalyptic world in the year 2898, the film blends futurism with elements of Mahabharata. It is the story of Bhairava, a bounty hunter who wants a luxurious life in The Complex, a privileged area that suppresses the poor. Bhairava (Prabhas) is assigned to stop the delivery of a pregnant woman, known as Sum-80 (Deepika Padukone).

Kalki 2898 AD earned Rs 1052.5 crore at the worldwide box office, according to IMDb.

The Greatest of All Time

Thalapathy Vijay starrer The Greatest of All Time (GOAT) is one of the highest-grossing Indian films of this year. Vijay plays a double role in the film. He plays an officer in an antiterrorism squad and also the officer's estranged son, who gets brainwashed by a criminal.

Also starring Prashanth and Prabhu Deva, the film made worldwide gross collection of Rs 460.3 crore as per IMDb.

Amaran

Based on the true-life story of Major Mukund Varadarajan, a commissioned officer in the Indian Army`s Rajput Regiment, Amaran is a heartwarming and inspiring story of Major Mukund and his wife Indhu. The Tamil-language film is not just about a soldier and his sacrifices and emotional struggles, it is also about a doting father, a caring husband, a dutiful son and a friend. It starred Sivakarthikeyan and Sai Pallavi in the lead roles.

Made on a budget of Rs 100 crore, the Venkat Prabhu directorial grossed Rs 330.2 crore worldwide as per IMDb.

Devara Part 1

Directed by Koratala Siva, Devara Part 1 is set in 1996. It follows the story of a police officer (Ajay), who is on a mission to find the criminals, Daya and Yethi. Their investigation leads them to Singappa (Prakash Raj), who lives in Errasamudram (Red Sea). He tells the story of Devara (Jr NTR) and Bhaira (Saif Ali Khan). Devara is shown as a righteous man, while Bhaira, the antagonist is brutal. Janhvi Kapoor plays the female lead in the action drama

Despite mixed reviews, Devara Part 1 made Rs 443.8 crore worldwide.

Hanu-Man

The action-adventure film is about a young man named Hanumanthu who acquires superpowers after he comes into contact with a gem formed from a drop of blood from Hanuman, the Hindu deity. Hanumanthu then becomes the target of Michael, who wants to acquire superpowers. The former stops the latter who wants to harm his loved ones.

Directed by Prasanth Varma, Hanu-Man was made on a reported budget of 40 crore as per IMDb and became blockbuster by making a gross collection of Rs 296.5 crore globally.

Manjummel Boys

This Malayalam film is about a group of young men from Kerala, who goes on a holiday in the Gunaa Caves of Kodaikanal, and end up in a life-and-death situation when one of their friends falls hundreds of feet into a hole.

Manjummel Boys is one of the highest-grossing Malayalam films of all time and is the first Malayalam movie to cross the Rs 200 crore mark at the worldwide box office.

Maharaja

Vijay Sethupathi starrer Maharaja became the highest-grossing Tamil film of 2024 in its opening week. The Tamil film also became the fastest worldwide grosser for a Tamil film this year. The film's worldwide collection is said to be Rs 230 crore (including China performance).

Maharaja is a story about a possessive father (Sethupathi) who goes through traumatic experiences after his daughter Jothi (Sachana Nemidas) gets raped. He narrates a cryptic story to the police of his lost dustbin "lakshmi" to find out the culprit.

Vettaiyan

Produced by Lyca Productions and Red Giant Movies, Vettaiyan starred Kamal Haasan, Fahadh Faasil and Amitabh Bachchan. The Tamil-language thriller reportedly grossed around Rs 230-260 crore.

The Goat Life (Aadujeevitham)

Prithviraj Sukumaran starrer is one of the highest-grossing Indian films of 2024 and the third highest-grossing Malayalam film of all time. It has grossed over Rs 160 crore. Directed by Blessy, the survival drama is based on true story of Indian migrant worker Najeeb Muhammed who goes to Saudi Arabia to earn money to send back home, but is forced to slavery.

Pushpa 2: The Rule

The sequel to 2021 blockbuster Pushpa: The Rise, Pushpa 2 has broken several records ever since its release on December 5. The Allu Arjun starrer has already crossed the Rs 1700 crore mark worldwide and is now eyeing to break the worldwide lifetime collections of Prabhas' Baahubali 2: The Conclusion.

Pushpa 2 starts where Part one ended. It shows the rise of sandalwood smuggler Pushpa Raj (Allu Arjun) while SP Bhawar Singh Shekhawat (Fahadh Faasil) wants to take revenge. Pushpa 2 showed the conflict and intense rivalry between Pushpa Raj and Shekhawat.