By the numbers
- Films: 16 since 2000; 12 in the last ten years (cameos and guest appearances not counted)
- Recent films with figures: 6 of 14 since 2014
- Hits: 3 (1 blockbusters), average: 0, flops: 3 – a hit rate of 50%
- Average return: 2.18x budget; best: Fidaa 7.00x; weakest: Antariksham 9000 KMPH 0.64x
- Biggest hit: F3 (2022), ₹110 cr
- Trend: last five films 2.40x on average, the five before 1.11x (up)
- Born: 1990-01-19
| Year | Film | Budget | Box office | Return | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Korean Kanakaraju | – | ₹40 cr | – | No figures |
| 2024 | Matka | – | – | – | No figures |
| 2024 | Operation Valentine | – | – | – | No figures |
| 2023 | Gandeevadhari Arjuna | – | – | – | No figures |
| 2022 | F3 | ₹60 cr | ₹110 cr | 1.83x | Hit |
| 2022 | Ghani | ₹30 cr | ₹21 cr | 0.71x | Flop |
| 2019 | Gaddalakonda Ganesh | ₹25 cr | ₹45 cr | 1.80x | Hit |
| 2018 | Antariksham 9000 KMPH | ₹25 cr | ₹16 cr | 0.64x | Flop |
| 2018 | Tholi Prema | – | ₹45 cr | – | No figures |
| 2017 | Fidaa | ₹13 cr | ₹91 cr | 7.00x | Blockbuster |
| 2017 | Mister | – | – | – | No figures |
| 2015 | Loafer | – | – | – | No figures |
| 2015 | Kanche | ₹18 cr | ₹20 cr | 1.11x | Flop |
| 2014 | Mukunda | – | – | – | No figures |
Varun Tej’s Telugu page runs from 2000 to 2026 and lists 16 films, 12 of them in the last decade. The scorecard is built on the six films that carry figures: 3 hits, 3 flops and 1 blockbuster, for a 50% hit rate. The average multiple across the recorded films is 2.18 and their combined gross is ₹388.5 cr. The page records no awards. It is a ledger of one exceptional return and a cluster of ordinary ones.
What the numbers say
Read as a whole, the record says Varun Tej’s hit rate is exactly break-even: 3 hits and 3 flops in the six films with figures, with 1 blockbuster recorded on Fidaa. The wins are narrow: F3 needed a ₹60.0 cr budget to become the biggest grosser at ₹110.0 cr, while the misses include two films that failed to return their budgets. The table above shows the asymmetry—three positive verdicts and three negative, but the wins are uneven.
Several earlier titles in the table above—Mukunda, Loafer and Mister—carry no figures in Wikipedia, so the scorecard is limited to the six measurable films. Tholi Prema has a ₹45.1 cr gross but no budget or multiple, which is why it sits outside the hit-flop arithmetic. That missing data matters, because it narrows the sample on which the hit rate rests.
The hits and the misses
The biggest recorded hit is F3: ₹110.0 cr gross on a ₹60.0 cr budget, a 1.83 multiple. It is the largest gross in the table, not the strongest return. That honour belongs to Fidaa, a blockbuster with a 7.0 multiple on a ₹13.0 cr budget and ₹91.0 cr gross. At the other end, the weakest recorded return is Antariksham 9000 KMPH: ₹16.1 cr gross against a ₹25.0 cr budget, a 0.64 multiple.
The trend
The recent five average multiple is 2.4, against 1.11 for the five before. That is a material improvement, but it should be read cautiously. Gandeevadhari Arjuna, Operation Valentine and Matka carry no figures in Wikipedia, so the recent-five line rests on fewer observable data points. Korean Kanakaraju is listed with a ₹40.0 cr gross but no budget or multiple, so it cannot yet sit in the hit-or-flop column.
What it means for the actor’s next film and the industry
For Varun Tej’s next film, the table above shows a ₹40.0 cr gross for Korean Kanakaraju and no multiple. Without a budget, the number cannot clear the bar set by Fidaa’s 7.0 multiple or F3’s 1.83 multiple. For the industry, the record is a cost-discipline marker. The best multiple came at a ₹13.0 cr budget; the weakest came at a ₹25.0 cr budget; the biggest gross required a ₹60.0 cr budget. A 50% hit rate at a 2.18 average multiple is workable only if the next production keeps its cost in a range the gross can actually cover.
Figures: Varun Tej on Wikipedia and each film’s page, read on 01 October 2026.
