Shah Rukh Khan Filmography Analysis - 11 Blockbusters and 16 Bumper Openers make him the Box Office King

In this article, we have tried to break down Shah Rukh Khan's filmography and have also tried decoding the decisions he took through the course of his career.

By Rishil Jogani

Updated on Jan 09, 2023 | 06:15 PM IST | 1.4M

Filmography analysis of Shah Rukh Khan (Credit: Shah Rukh Khan/ Yash Raj Films Instagram)

Shah Rukh Khan has had a career spanning over three decades in the Indian film industry and three and a half decades if we also consider his television stint. In his over 30 year career, he has been a part of some of the most iconic and memorable films that the country has ever produced. In a film industry where equations change every Friday, Shah Rukh Khan has been able to stand tall for many years and is among the very few standing 90s stars who can still carry a film.

His film Pathaan releases in a couple of weeks and the hype for the film is already hitting the roof as we move closer to the grand release on the 25th of January. The film also stars John Abraham and Deepika Padukone and is directed by Siddharth Anand. Pathaan is part of the Spy Universe created by Yash Raj Films and will have a connection with the other spy films produced by the banner.

The emergence of Shah Rukh Khan (Credit: Shemaroo Movies)

Initial Movie Success And Journey From Television To Theatres:

Coming back to Shah Rukh Khan's career trajectory, he is among the rare stars who tasted big success from the very start of his career, which he has been able to maintain with passing time. Khan was a popular television star and signed five films before his debut on the very same day. This was unprecedented for an actor who didn't even make a debut till then. While he began shooting for Dil Ashna Hai earlier, his first big screen appearance was in Deewana. SRK's performance was lauded. It opened big, was a commercial hit and was among the highest grossing films of the year too. Post Deewana, there were a series of moderate successes and failures, as most actors see when they start off. The difference between the film selection of other actors and SRK was that SRK focused on getting meaty roles, so as to derive the most benefit out of the projects, whatever be their fate.

Success playing anti-hero roles and characters (Credit: Yash Raj Films)

Success Playing Anti-Hero Roles And Re-Positioning:

Shah Rukh Khan played a lot with his identity as a movie star. Very early on in his career, he started playing anti-hero and psycho roles, which were considered to be a very risky bet back in the days as it could lead to the typecasting of an emerging actor. SRK made a niche for himself in the genre with Baazigar and Darr, and followed it with Anjaam. Darr and Baazigar emerged as major successes while Anjaam was an average grosser. All three films opened well, establishing Khan as a major movie star.

The King Of Romance (Credit: Yash Raj Films)

The Journey Towards Being Recognised As The King Of Romance:

He then moulded himself into a romantic hero in fairtale romances like Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, helmed by Aditya Chopra, Yash Chopra, Subhash Ghai, Karan Johar and Aziz Mirza among others. These films helped him get the title of King Of Romance. He did action and comedy films as well, many of which did have a successful run theatrically but it was the romantic hero roles which the audience most preferred from him, something he has continued doing time and again, through the years.

Re-discovery, experimentation and longest success streak (Credit: Venus and Tips Movies, Red Chillies Entertainment, Dharma Movies)

Re-Discovery, Experimentation And Longest String Of Successful Films:

With the turn of the new millenium, Khan changed his approach and did a lot of experimental roles. He also turned a producer during that time, which was a major step for an actor, less than a decade old in the industry. Many of his films found acclaim but didn't do the desired box office numbers. He still made it a point to do one major film each year, and that bet paid off more often than not. The actor was able to give five back to back highest Indian grossers of the year from 2000 to 2004, while trying his hand in films like Asoka, Swades and Paheli (2005). After Paheli, he gave a string of 12 successful theatrical releases, which put him in the category of all time greats like Rajesh Khanna.

Commercial Setbacks (Credit: Red Chillies Entertainment)

Commercial Setback, Sabbatical, Return:

The years from 2016 to 2018 were one of the lowest phases for the actor, commercially. He gave three flops and a one successful film, in a leading role, in this span. The biggest disappointment out of the flop films was Zero, which ended up becoming a rare film that didn't profit SRK, unlike his other flops which still made him a truckload of money. The actor went on a hiatus after the critical and commercial failure of Zero and he is now returning on the big screen with three massive releases in the span of 12 months. 2023 is expected to be a historic year in his filmography and it will be a determinant of where the career of the actor is headed.

Return on the big screen with Pathaan (Credit: Yash Raj Films)

What Has Shah Rukh Khan Been Most Consistent With?:

Regardless of the commercial successes and failures which all actors see in the course of their careers, one thing that has been very common in Shah Rukh Khan's career is his substantial pull among international audiences. He currently has 11 consecutive films that have raked-in in excess of 10 million dollars, internationally, and Pathaan is all set to be the 12th film. He has the most number of overseas blockbusters as well as highest grossers for an Indian actor internationally and many a times, the share from the overseas market has been greater than the share of successful films released around that time in India. Also, Shah Rukh Khan has the most number of bumper openings for a Hindi actor since the 90s, with a total of 16 to his credit already.