By the numbers
- Films: 111 since 1974; 12 in the last ten years (cameos and guest appearances not counted)
- Recent films with figures: 5 of 11 since 2014
- Hits: 3 (1 blockbusters), average: 2, flops: 0 – a hit rate of 60%
- Average return: 1.80x budget; best: Akhanda 2.50x; weakest: Paisa Vasool 1.29x
- Biggest hit: Akhanda (2021), ₹150 cr
- Born: 1960-06-10
- Awards on Wikidata: 2
| Year | Film | Budget | Box office | Return | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Daaku Maharaaj | ₹100 cr | ₹130 cr | 1.30x | Average |
| 2023 | Bhagavanth Kesari | ₹65 cr | ₹130 cr | 2.00x | Hit |
| 2023 | Veera Simha Reddy | ₹70 cr | ₹134 cr | 1.91x | Hit |
| 2021 | Akhanda | ₹60 cr | ₹150 cr | 2.50x | Blockbuster |
| 2019 | Ruler | – | – | – | No figures |
| 2018 | Jai Simha | – | ₹50 cr | – | No figures |
| 2017 | Paisa Vasool | ₹28 cr | ₹36 cr | 1.29x | Average |
| 2017 | Gautamiputra Satakarni | – | ₹79 cr | – | No figures |
| 2016 | Dictator | – | ₹36 cr | – | No figures |
| 2015 | Lion | – | ₹29 cr | – | No figures |
| 2014 | Legend | – | ₹70 cr | – | No figures |
What the numbers say
Nandamuri Balakrishna has been on Telugu screens since 1974, and the filmography page lists 111 films through 2025. In the table above, five recent films carry full budget and gross figures on Wikipedia, and those five give a clean read: three hits, one blockbuster, two average verdicts, no flops, and a hit rate of 60 percent. The available average multiple is 1.8, and the recent films with reported gross figures total ₹843.2 crore.
That is a durable mass-star record. The page counts 12 films in the last decade, and the recent data point to an actor whose opening remains bankable even when budgets climb. But the headline number is not the collection; it is the multiple, because the multiple shows how much room the film leaves for profit.
The hits and the misses
The biggest hit by multiple is Akhanda (2021), made on a ₹60.0 crore budget and grossing ₹150.0 crore for a 2.5 multiple, the only blockbuster in the set. The weakest return among films with data is Paisa Vasool (2017), which cost ₹28.0 crore and grossed ₹36.0 crore, a 1.29 multiple and an average verdict. The spread between those two figures is the central tension in the record: his best available return is nearly double his weakest.
The trend
The recent five with data are Paisa Vasool, Akhanda, Veera Simha Reddy, Bhagavanth Kesari and Daaku Maharaaj, and they average a 1.8 multiple. Wikipedia carries no comparable average for the five before, so a direct five-to-five comparison cannot be made from the page. What the available numbers show is consistency in the middle: the three films after Akhanda have stayed between 1.3 and 2.0, while the overall average remains 1.8.
What it means for the actor’s next film and for the industry
For the next film, the arithmetic points to a budget decision rather than a star-power question. There are no flops in the available data, but Akhanda’s 2.5 multiple came at a ₹60.0 crore budget, while Daaku Maharaaj was made for ₹100.0 crore and grossed ₹130.0 crore, a 1.3 multiple. Veera Simha Reddy and Bhagavanth Kesari, at ₹70.0 crore and ₹65.0 crore, delivered 1.91 and 2.0 respectively. The pattern suggests that the brand holds, but the margin tightens as the budget crosses ₹100.0 crore.
For the industry, the scorecard is a reminder that even a reliable mass hero needs thrifty scale. The Balayya brand can absorb a big event film, but the strongest return on these figures came from a smaller, sharper production. Producers who keep costs near the ₹60.0-70.0 crore zone rather than chasing a nine-figure budget may see healthier multiples from the same audience loyalty.
Figures: Nandamuri Balakrishna filmography on Wikipedia and each film’s page, read on 29 September 2026.
