By the numbers
- Films: 22 since 2010; 15 in the last ten years (cameos and guest appearances not counted)
- Recent films with figures: 12 of 14 since 2017
- Hits: 4 (3 blockbusters), average: 4, flops: 4 – a hit rate of 33%
- Average return: 1.92x budget; best: Badrinath Ki Dulhania 5.14x; weakest: Baby John 0.31x
- Biggest hit: Border 2 (2026), ₹464 cr
- Trend: last five films 1.22x on average, the five before 1.61x (down)
- Born: 1987-04-24
| Year | Film | Budget | Box office | Return | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai | ₹55 cr | ₹74 cr | 1.34x | Average |
| 2026 | Border 2 | ₹275 cr | ₹464 cr | 1.69x | Average |
| 2025 | Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari | ₹80 cr | ₹99 cr | 1.24x | Flop |
| 2024 | Baby John | ₹180 cr | ₹56 cr | 0.31x | Flop |
| 2023 | Bawaal | – | – | – | No figures |
| 2022 | Bhediya | ₹60 cr | ₹90 cr | 1.50x | Average |
| 2022 | Jugjugg Jeeyo | ₹120 cr | ₹140 cr | 1.17x | Flop |
| 2020 | Coolie No. 1 | – | – | – | No figures |
| 2020 | Street Dancer 3D | ₹70 cr | ₹97 cr | 1.39x | Average |
| 2019 | Kalank | ₹130 cr | ₹146 cr | 1.13x | Flop |
| 2018 | Sui Dhaaga | ₹48 cr | ₹125 cr | 2.61x | Blockbuster |
| 2018 | October | ₹33 cr | ₹58 cr | 1.77x | Hit |
| 2017 | Judwaa 2 | ₹60 cr | ₹228 cr | 3.79x | Blockbuster |
| 2017 | Badrinath Ki Dulhania | ₹39 cr | ₹200 cr | 5.14x | Blockbuster |
What the numbers say
As of 28 September 2026, Varun Dhawan has 22 films on the page since his 2010 debut. Of those, 12 carry both budget and gross figures in the table above. They include 4 Hit verdicts, 3 Blockbusters and 4 Flops, and the page reports a hit rate of 33 percent. The total reported gross across those 12 films is 1779.1 crore, with an average multiple of 1.92.
That number tells a story of safety, not stardom. A 1.92 average multiple is workable, but it sits close to the line. The best return did not come from his most expensive film.
The hits and the misses
The biggest hit by gross is Border 2 in 2026: 464.5 crore against a 275 crore budget, for a 1.69 multiple and an Average verdict. It is proof that a huge gross can still be a thin result when the budget is huge too.
The weakest return is Baby John in 2024: 56.49 crore against 180 crore, a 0.31 multiple and a Flop. The reported Flops are Kalank, Jugjugg Jeeyo, Baby John and Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari. The best multiple belongs to Badrinath Ki Dulhania, which turned 39 crore into 200.45 crore, a 5.14 multiple and a Blockbuster. Judwaa 2 and Sui Dhaaga are the other Blockbusters in the data.
The trend
The recent five reported films average a 1.22 multiple, down from the previous five’s 1.61. In the table above, that recent group is Bhediya, Baby John, Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari, Border 2 and Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai. The previous group is October, Sui Dhaaga, Kalank, Street Dancer 3D and Jugjugg Jeeyo.
The trend is not artificially dragged down by one disaster. Even Border 2’s 1.69 is below the previous group’s average. The record is becoming more budget-sensitive, not more reliable.
Coolie No. 1 and Bawaal have no budget or gross figures; Wikipedia carries none, so they sit outside the arithmetic.
What it means for the actor’s next film
The next film should be costed for a 1.2-1.5 multiple, because that is the recent band. A 39-60 crore film that over-performs, like Badrinath Ki Dulhania, would do more for the scorecard than another 275 crore swing at a Border 2 scale. The numbers do not say Varun Dhawan cannot open a film; they say his films cannot keep carrying inflated budgets.
What it means for the industry
For Hindi cinema, the Varun Dhawan scorecard is a caution against scale. Border 2’s 464.5 crore gross is the biggest number in the data, but its 1.69 multiple is only Average. At the same time, missing figures for Coolie No. 1 and Bawaal show how incomplete public box-office data can become in the OTT era. A bankable star with a 33 percent hit rate and a 1.92 average multiple still needs the right price tag, not just the right face.
Figures: Varun Dhawan on Wikipedia and each film’s page, read on 28 September 2026.
