Laalo: A Rs 50 lakh Gujarati film outperforms Ranveer Singh’s Dhurandhar at box office, earns 23,900% profit

Laalo released on October 10. (Photo: IMDb)

In October, when the much-awaited Kannada epic Kantara: Chapter 1 stormed theatres across India, very few noticed that just a week later, a small Gujarati film quietly made its way to cinemas. With a modest budget of just Rs 50 lakh, Laalo: Krishna Sada Sahaayate appeared to be yet another low-key regional release—unlikely to survive beyond a couple of weeks. Its opening numbers only reinforced that perception. However, by the time it was done with its box office run, the film earned an unbelievable Rs 120.58 crore at the global box office.

According to Industry tracker Sacnilk, in its first week, Laalo collected Rs 33 lakh, followed by Rs 27 lakh in its second week, pushing the film marginally into profit territory with a surplus of just Rs 10 lakh. Industry observers assumed the film would wrap up its theatrical run soon after. But what followed defied every box-office rulebook.

In its third week, Laalo suddenly picked up momentum, earning Rs 62 lakh. The real turning point came on its fourth Saturday, when the film shocked the trade by collecting Rs 1 crore in a single day. By then, the film had already recovered 200% of its production cost—an achievement few films ever reach. Yet, this was only the beginning.

On its fourth Sunday, Laalo earned Rs 1.85 crore in its original Gujarati version alone. By the end of its fourth week, the film had amassed a staggering Rs 12.08 crore. Riding strong word-of-mouth and repeat audiences, Laalo went on to enjoy an extraordinary theatrical run of nearly three months, ultimately earning Rs 120.58 crore worldwide.

The film has officially become the highest-grossing Gujarati film of all time and the first Gujarati film to cross the Rs 100 crore mark globally—a milestone once considered unthinkable for the industry.

At a time when big-budget spectacles like Ranveer Singh’s Dhurandhar dominate headlines for earning five to six times their Rs 250 crore budgets, Laalo stands as a far rarer success story with a profit margin of approximately 23,900%.

The film has also outperformed recent sleeper hits like Premalu and Manjummel Boys. While both films created significant box-office waves and broke regional records, they were mounted on comparatively higher budgets of Rs 5 crore and Rs 20 crore, respectively.

Laalo tells the story of a rickshaw driver trapped in a secluded farmhouse, forced to confront his inner demons while experiencing divine visions of Lord Krishna, who guides him through a deeply spiritual journey of healing and self-discovery. The film features Reeva Rachh, Shruhad Goswami, Karan Joshi, Mishty Kadecha, and Anshu Joshi, among others, and its unprecedented success has catapulted both the cast and director Ankit Sakhiya into national prominence.

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Sakhiya reflected on the film’s impact: “This is not just about showing figures. This is about delivering a message. Krishna doesn’t belong to us alone—he belongs to the whole world.”

He added that the team has moved beyond the traditional hit-versus-flop narrative. “We are no longer chasing numbers. The film is already a hit. Our only aim now is to take it to more people. Watch it, celebrate it, and talk about it.”

The film is now set for a pan-India re-release in the Hindi language on January 9, marking its second theatrical innings and aiming to introduce the phenomenon to an even wider audience.