Ranveer Singh's 'Dhurandhar' has become the latest Bollywood film to test the waters in Japan, opening across nearly 80 screens and selling around 900 tickets on its first day. Whether the film can build momentum in the days ahead remains to be seen, but its release once again shines a spotlight on Japan's fascinating relationship with Hindi cinema. Over the years, a handful of Bollywood films have made their way to Japanese theatres, with some finding an unexpectedly warm reception while others struggled to leave a mark. This listicle looks exclusively at some of the most popular Bollywood releases and does not include blockbuster Indian films from other industries, such as 'RRR', 'Baahubali' and 'Muthu', which also enjoyed remarkable success in Japan.

‘3 Idiots’ (2009)

Directed by Rajkumar Hirani, ‘3 Idiots’ is the highest-grossing Bollywood film, so far, which had a stellar run at the Japanese box office. Starring Aamir Khan, R Madhavan, and Sharman Joshi in the lead, the coming-of-age comedy drama reportedly made a lifetime collection of 170 million JPY. It was the third-highest-grossing Indian film in Japan until its collection was surpassed by SS Rajamouli’s magnum opus ‘RRR’. Released in Japan in June 2013, the film minted about 100 million JPY within two weeks of its box office run.

‘English Vinglish’ (2012)

Late actor Sridevi’s 2012 comedy-drama, ‘English Vinglish’ also enjoyed a successful run at the Japanese theatres. The movie, which marked Sridevi’s return to the screens after a hiatus of 15 years, created waves in Japan, also reportedly bringing her the title of ‘Female Rajinikanth of Japan’. ‘English Vinglish’, which was originally released in India in October 2012, had its Japanese release in 2014. It’s the second-highest-grossing Hindi film in Japan after ‘3 Idiots’, collecting around 1.4 million USD. Directed by Gauri Shinde, ‘English Vinglish’ is the story of Shashi Godbole (played by Sridevi), who enrolls herself in an English-speaking class to stop her children and husband from mocking her.

‘The Lunchbox’ (2013)

Written and directed by Ritesh Batra, ‘The Lunchbox’, starring Irrfan Khan and Nimrat Kaur in the leading roles, also enjoyed a successful run with the Japanese audience. Released in Japan in 2014, the film’s Japanese dubbed version was screened in about 100 theatres for 10 weeks. According to reports, ‘The Lunchbox’ made a collection of roughly 150 million JPY in the country. Also starring Nawazuddin Siddiqui, ‘The Lunchbox’ is jointly produced by Anurag Kashyap, Guneet Monga, and Arun Rangachari.

‘Dhoom 3’ (2013)

After enjoying the huge success of ‘3 Idiots’, Aamir Khan returned to the Japanese screens with ‘Dhoom 3’, a film which created several records at international fronts. After a special premiere at the 27th Tokyo International Film Festival, the Vijay Krishna Acharya directorial, which saw Khan in a dual role, was released on 100 screens in Japan. Unlike the massive collections of ‘3 Idiots’, ‘Dhoom 3’ made a modest earning of 8.6 million JPY, per reports.

‘Pathaan’ (2023)

Starring Shah Rukh Khan, John Abraham, and Deepika Padukone, Yash Raj Films’ blockbuster hit film ‘Pathaan’ was released in India in January 2023. Directed by Siddharth Anand, the action-thriller was released in Japan in September of the same year. According to reports, it was released on over 78 screens in the country with Japanese subtitles. It gained a strong opening weekend collection of 14.5 million JPY, and its total collection in Japan is said to be around 50 million JPY.