Top Bollywood Movies of 2023: From Jawan to 12th Fail

The top Bollywood movies of 2023 are Jawan, 12th Fail, Pathaan, Animal, Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani, Gadar 2, Dunki, Tiger 3 and Satyaprem Ki Katha. Jawan was the year’s biggest Hindi hit, while 12th Fail won Best Feature Film at the 71st National Film Awards. Here is each film with box office and where to stream it.

Quick facts: top Bollywood movies of 2023

Box office figures are estimates reported across trade sources, since India has no official tracking. Streaming platforms were checked in October 2026.

Top Bollywood movies of 2023, ranked

1. Jawan

Atlee’s action drama gave Shah Rukh Khan his biggest hit, with a worldwide gross of about Rs 1,148 crore. SRK plays a father and son, and the film takes on farmer suicides, failing government hospitals and corrupt arms deals.

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Its closing speech asks voters to question leaders before they vote, and it became one of the most shared scenes of the year. In August 2025 SRK won his first National Award, Best Actor, for Jawan, sharing it with Vikrant Massey.

2. 12th Fail

Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s film is based on the real story of IPS officer Manoj Kumar Sharma, who comes from a poor family in Chambal and fails Class 12 before fighting his way through the UPSC exam. Vikrant Massey plays Manoj.

It opened small and grew on word of mouth, then became a streaming favourite. It won Best Feature Film at the 71st National Film Awards, and Massey shared Best Actor.

3. Pathaan

Pathaan marked Shah Rukh Khan’s return to the big screen after more than four years. Siddharth Anand’s spy thriller, part of the YRF Spy Universe, has John Abraham as the villain and Deepika Padukone as an ISI agent. It grossed about Rs 1,050 crore worldwide.

4. Animal

Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s film stars Ranbir Kapoor as a man obsessed with his father’s love, with Anil Kapoor, Bobby Deol, Rashmika Mandanna and Triptii Dimri. It earned over Rs 900 crore worldwide.

It also split audiences over its violence and its view of men and women. Ranbir’s performance was widely praised, and the film won National Awards for sound design and background music.

5. Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani

Karan Johar’s romcom pairs Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt as a loud Punjabi boy and a Bengali journalist who swap families to win them over. Dharmendra, Jaya Bachchan and Shabana Azmi play the elders, with an unfinished love story of their own.

It pokes fun at gender roles in a big, colourful way. It won Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment at the 71st National Film Awards.

6. Gadar 2

We have added Gadar 2 in this update. Sunny Deol and Ameesha Patel returned as Tara Singh and Sakeena 22 years after the first film. Anil Sharma’s sequel was the fourth biggest Hindi film of the year with about Rs 687 crore worldwide.

7. Dunki

Rajkumar Hirani’s film follows a group from a Punjab town trying to reach London through the illegal “donkey route”. Shah Rukh Khan and Taapsee Pannu lead the cast. The pacing is uneven, but its theme of risky migration is still in the news.

8. Tiger 3

Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif return as spies Tiger and Zoya. Emraan Hashmi plays the villain, and many viewers felt he was the best thing in the film. Shah Rukh Khan has a cameo as Pathaan.

9. Satyaprem Ki Katha

Kartik Aaryan and Kiara Advani star in this romantic drama that turns into a story about sexual violence and the trauma a survivor carries into a marriage. It handles the subject with more care than most mainstream films.

Also worth a watch from 2023

Kathal, a small satire about a politician’s missing jackfruits starring Sanya Malhotra, won Best Hindi Feature Film at the 71st National Film Awards and streams on Netflix. Mrs Chatterjee vs Norway won Rani Mukerji the Best Actress award for her role as a mother fighting Norway’s child welfare system. Sam Bahadur, Meghna Gulzar’s biopic of Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw with Vicky Kaushal, won the award for promoting national values along with prizes for costume and make-up.

These films did not top the box office, but they are the ones award juries and critics remember from the year.

What 2023 changed for Bollywood

After a weak 2022, three films crossed Rs 900 crore worldwide in a single year. At the same time, a small film like 12th Fail proved that audiences would still back a strong story without stars or big action.

Read more film coverage in our Bollywood section and our reviews.

Frequently asked questions

Sources: 71st National Film Awards, Wikipedia, List of Hindi films of 2023, Wikipedia, 12th Fail streaming, JustWatch India.