By the numbers
- Films: 77 since 1984; 11 in the last ten years
- Recent films with figures: 14 of 14 since 2014
- Hits: 6 (0 blockbusters), average: 5, flops: 3 – a hit rate of 43%
- Average return: 1.72x budget; best: Leo 2.38x; weakest: Jana Nayagan 1.07x
- Biggest hit: Leo (2023), ₹595 cr
- Trend: last five films 1.54x on average, the five before 1.89x (down)
| Year | Film | Budget | Box office | Return | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Jana Nayagan | ₹300 cr | ₹320 cr | 1.07x | Flop |
| 2024 | The Greatest of All Time | ₹380 cr | ₹440 cr | 1.16x | Flop |
| 2023 | Leo | ₹250 cr | ₹595 cr | 2.38x | Hit |
| 2023 | Varisu | ₹200 cr | ₹290 cr | 1.45x | Average |
| 2022 | Beast | ₹130 cr | ₹216 cr | 1.66x | Average |
| 2021 | Master | ₹135 cr | ₹220 cr | 1.63x | Average |
| 2019 | Bigil | ₹180 cr | ₹285 cr | 1.58x | Average |
| 2018 | Sarkar | ₹110 cr | ₹253 cr | 2.30x | Hit |
| 2017 | Mersal | ₹120 cr | ₹250 cr | 2.08x | Hit |
| 2017 | Bairavaa | ₹60 cr | ₹112 cr | 1.87x | Hit |
| 2016 | Theri | ₹75 cr | ₹150 cr | 2.00x | Hit |
| 2015 | Puli | ₹87 cr | ₹101 cr | 1.16x | Flop |
| 2014 | Kaththi | ₹50 cr | ₹100 cr | 2.00x | Hit |
| 2014 | Jilla | ₹50 cr | ₹85 cr | 1.70x | Average |
The table above, as of 25 September 2026, covers the 14 Vijay films for which Wikipedia carries budget and gross figures. That is the only record that can be scored here; for the rest of the filmography, Wikipedia carries no figures rather than a verdict we could guess at.
What the numbers say
Across the 14 scored films, Vijay has 6 hits, 5 average results and 3 flops—and no blockbusters. The hit rate is 43% and the average multiple is 1.72. Combined gross in the table stands at ₹3,417 crore. The record is steady, not explosive: a sub-2 average multiple and a hit rate below half point to an actor whose value shows up in scale, not in runaway returns.
The hits and the misses
The biggest hit is also the best multiple in the table: Leo (2023) turned a ₹250 crore budget into a ₹595 crore gross, a 2.38 multiple and a Hit verdict. The weakest return is Jana Nayagan (2026), made for ₹300 crore and grossing ₹320 crore—a 1.07 multiple and a Flop. Two other films also land as flops in the table: Puli (1.16) and The Greatest of All Time (1.16).
The trend
The recent five average 1.54, against 1.89 for the previous five. The recent five are Beast, Varisu, Leo, The Greatest of All Time and Jana Nayagan. The previous five are Bairavaa, Mersal, Sarkar, Bigil and Master. The direction is downward even as budgets have climbed: the last two films carry ₹380 crore and ₹300 crore budgets, while earlier entries like Jilla and Bairavaa were made for ₹50 crore and ₹60 crore. Leo is the clear exception in the recent set at 2.38; the other recent titles sit below the overall average.
What it means for the next film and the industry
For Vijay’s next film, the scorecard sets a simple test. The event-film ceiling is proven—Leo reached ₹595 crore—but the two most recent big-budget attempts returned 1.16 and 1.07. A project at ₹250 crore or above has not produced a hit in this dataset, so the next film either needs a budget that leaves room for a stronger multiple or a return to the lower-cost pattern of Kaththi and Theri, both 2.0 multiples on ₹50 crore and ₹75 crore budgets.
For the industry, the record is a reminder that a top Tamil star can generate ₹3,417 crore in cumulative gross across 14 scored films, but an average multiple of 1.72 means distributors and studios are paying for scale with thinner margins. When budgets rise faster than multiples, even a star with a 43% hit rate leaves little room for error.
Figures: Vijay filmography on Wikipedia and each film’s page, read on 25 September 2026.
