By the numbers
- Films: 44 since 2010; 21 in the last ten years (cameos and guest appearances not counted)
- Recent films with figures: 9 of 14 since 2018
- Hits: 5 (4 blockbusters), average: 0, flops: 4 – a hit rate of 56%
- Average return: 2.28x budget; best: Maa Inti Bangaaram 5.00x; weakest: Shaakuntalam 0.31x
- Biggest hit: Rangasthalam (2018), ₹216 cr
- Trend: last five films 1.64x on average, the five before 3.08x (down)
- Born: 1987-04-27
- Awards on Wikidata: 6
| Year | Film | Budget | Box office | Return | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Maa Inti Bangaaram | ₹20 cr | ₹100 cr | 5.00x | Blockbuster |
| 2023 | Kushi | ₹70 cr | ₹72 cr | 1.03x | Flop |
| 2023 | Shaakuntalam | ₹65 cr | ₹20 cr | 0.31x | Flop |
| 2022 | Yashoda | ₹30 cr | ₹32 cr | 1.07x | Flop |
| 2022 | Kaathuvaakula Rendu Kaadhal | – | ₹70 cr | – | No figures |
| 2020 | Jaanu | ₹15 cr | ₹12 cr | 0.79x | Flop |
| 2019 | Oh! Baby | ₹16 cr | ₹34 cr | 2.12x | Hit |
| 2019 | Majili | ₹22 cr | ₹70 cr | 3.18x | Blockbuster |
| 2019 | Super Deluxe | – | – | – | No figures |
| 2018 | U Turn | – | – | – | No figures |
| 2018 | Seemaraja | – | – | – | No figures |
| 2018 | Irumbu Thirai | – | ₹61 cr | – | No figures |
| 2018 | Mahanati | ₹25 cr | ₹85 cr | 3.40x | Blockbuster |
| 2018 | Rangasthalam | ₹60 cr | ₹216 cr | 3.60x | Blockbuster |
This scorecard works only with the numbers listed on the page. As of 21 October 2026, Samantha Ruth Prabhu has 44 films listed from a 2010 debut through 2026, with 21 of those arriving in the last decade. Of that filmography, nine titles carry budget and gross figures; seven appearances are left out of the table, and where Wikipedia has no numbers this piece does not guess.
What the numbers say
The reported record is better on multiples than on consistency. Across the nine films with figures, she has five hits and four flops, with four of the hits classified as blockbusters, a 56% hit rate and an average multiple of 2.28. No film in that reported set carries an average verdict. The strongest signal is that her returns are real when the budget is controlled, but the record swings between 5.0 and 0.31.
The hits and the misses
The biggest hit by gross is Rangasthalam, the 2018 blockbuster that took ₹216.0 crore on a ₹60.0 crore budget, a 3.6 multiple. The best multiple is Maa Inti Bangaaram in 2026: ₹100.0 crore from ₹20.0 crore, a 5.0 multiple. The weakest return is Shaakuntalam, the 2023 flop that recovered only ₹20.0 crore against a ₹65.0 crore budget, a 0.31 multiple. Kushi, also from 2023, is the other budget-heavy miss in the table at a 1.03 multiple.
The trend
The recent five reported films average a 1.64 multiple, compared with 3.08 for the five before. That is the most important line in the scorecard: the overall 2.28 average is propped up by earlier films such as Rangasthalam and Mahanati, plus the later 5.0 from Maa Inti Bangaaram. In between, Shaakuntalam’s 0.31 and Kushi’s 1.03 show how quickly the arithmetic turns when budgets climb.
What it means for her next film and for the industry
For Samantha’s next film, the numbers favour a disciplined budget. A ₹20.0 crore vehicle can become a 5.0 blockbuster, while a ₹65.0 crore or ₹70.0 crore project has recently underperformed or flopped. That matters for producers beyond Samantha: the industry should read this as proof that a strong star attachment cannot outrun a budget that is not matched to the audience. The next announcement deserves as much scrutiny on the cost as on the cast.
Figures: Samantha Ruth Prabhu filmography on Wikipedia and each film’s page, read on 21 October 2026.
