7 low-budget South Indian movies with outstanding box office collections ; Kantara, 2018 to HanuMan

South Indian industries have earned a reputation of putting out excellent films, with relatively low budgets. Here are the top 7 South Indian low-budget films.

By Pavaman Suraj

Updated on Apr 07, 2025 | 07:50 PM IST | 10M

7 low-budget South Indian movies with massive box office collections

Kantara, 2018 to HanuMan; 7 low-budget South Indian movies with outstanding box office collections

Over the last few years, the South-Indian film industry has been increasing its budgets incrementally. Every year there is a film that surpasses the budget of another film. Today, we are going to be taking a look at some South Indian films that used low budgets to produce top-standard-quality films, and in the process, also scored big at the box office. The most recent example is the Prasanth Varma directorial Hanuman, which has made audiences throng to the theatres.

With that being said, let us take a look at 7 low budget south indian movies ranging from 2 crore budgets to collections upwards of almost 400 crores.

7 low-budget South Indian movies with outstanding box office collections

1. 2018: Everyone is a Hero (2023)

IMDb Rating: 8.4/10
Cast: Tovino Thomas, Asif Ali, Kunchacko Boban, Aparna Balamurali, Vineeth Sreenivasan
Genre: Thriller/Drama
Where To Watch: Sony Liv

Based on the horrifying 2018 Kerala floods, 2018: Everyone is a Hero is a film that is a testament to the sheer grit and willpower of the people of Kerala, both within and without the film. Shot as a south low budget movie to 26 crores, 2018 went on to collect 177 crores in gross collections, making it the biggest Malayalam movie of all time. From creating a whole village set and a replica helicopter to minimize the budget, to coming up with an ingenious idea to replicate the floods, 2018 is a marvel of filmmaking and it has truly made the impossible, possible.

2. Love Today(2022)

IMDb Rating: 8/10
Cast: Pradeep Ranganathan, Ivana, Raveena Ravi
Genre: Romance/Comedy
Where To Watch: Netflix

A hilarious new-age romantic comedy that was targeted at the youth, Love Today took the box office by absolute surprise. The film was shot on a budget of just 5-6 crores and went on to collect over 57 crores at the box office. Even though the film involved the usage of VFX at regular intervals, director Pradeep Ranganathan made no compromises on the quality of the film.

3. Kantara (2022)

IMDb Rating: 8.2/10
Cast: Rishab Shetty, Sapthami Gowda, Kishore
Genre: Action/Thriller
Where To Watch: Prime/Netflix (Hindi)

Kantara is a movie that is mindblowing for many reasons, but perhaps the most perplexing aspect of the film lies outside its script, it is its budget of 16 crores. How was Rishab Shetty able to create such a rich atmosphere, with such a minimal budget? From the lighting of the film to its color grading and overall aesthetic, Kantara is proof that budgets don’t make films, passion and planning does. Rishab has reaped the benefits of his passion and hard work as Kantara has amassed a total collection of 398 crores, making it the second biggest Kannada movie of all time, only one behind KGF 2.

4. Karthikeya 2 (2022)

IMDb Rating: 7.9/10
Cast: Nikhil Siddhartha, Anupama Parameswaran, Anupam Kher
Genre: Mystery/Action
Where To Watch: ZEE5

An ambitious sequel to Karthikeya, Karthikeya 2 scored big with its ideas, translating into huge box office success. Similar to HanuMan’s Lord Hanuman influence, Karthikeya 2 was heavily inspired by Lord Krishna. This devotional connection is what made Karthikeya amass a total collection of close to 86.75 crores in India and a total of 100+ crores worldwide, while the budget spent on the film was only 15 crores.

5. 777 Charlie (2022)

IMDb Rating: 8.8/10
Cast: Rakshit Shetty, Sangeetha Sringeri, Raj B Shetty
Genre: Adventure/Comedy
Where To Watch: Jio Cinema

A heartwarming story of love, loss, and pain, 777 Charlie is one of the most memorable movies ever made in Indian cinema. If it was not already hard enough to make a dog act for the camera, the makers only had a minimal budget of 20 crores to complete the entire shoot. Despite all the hurdles, Rakshit and the team delivered an unforgettable product, without any compromise in the quality of the film. And, the result of that? A box-office shattering response from the audience. 777 Charlie ended its theatrical run with a collection of 71 crores, the 3rd highest-grossing Kannada movie at that time.

6. Kirik Party (2016)

Runtime: 2 hours 39 minutes
IMDb Rating: 8.3/10
Cast: Rakshit Shetty, Rashmika Mandanna, Samyuktha Hegde
Genre: Comedy/Romance
Where To Watch: Jio Cinema

A film that launched Rashmika Mandanna to great heights, Kirik Party was made on a budget of just 4 crores, and crossed 50 crores in collections, an amount that was unseen in Kannada cinema in 2016. A beautiful coming-of-age story, that marked the debut directorial venture of Rishab Shetty and also established Rakshit as an actor of serious caliber.

7. Rangi Taranga (2015)

IMDb Rating: 8.2/10
Cast: Nirup Bhandari, Radhika Narayan, Sai Kumar
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Where To Watch: MX Player

RangiTaranga is the debut directorial of Anup Bhandari, which was made on a budget of just 1.5 crores and went on to collect 43 crores at the box office. The film has emerged as a cult classic in the Kannada Film industry and has emerged as a film of pride for the Kannada audiences. Despite the meek budget of 1.5 crores, the film offered styles of filmmaking that were completely new to the audiences and also blew people’s minds away with its intriguing twists.

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