A record-breakingBollywoodhit is now climbing a major streaming chart. Bollywood is a term widely used to refer to Hindi-language movies from India, though Indian cinema also includes a number of film markets in different languages including Telugu, Tamil, and Marathi. Over the decades, Bollywood has produced many classics such as the 1997 romanceDil To Pagal Haiand the 1977 action movieAmar Akbar Anthony, also inspiring a number of English-language movies, includingBride & PrejudiceandSlumdog Millionaire.
In recent years, a number of record-breakingHindi movieshave made their way into theaters. In fact, of the current Top 10 highest-grossing Bollywood titles of all time, six of them were released in 2023 or later.That roster includes 2023’sJawanandPathaan, both of which feature global superstar Shah Rukh Khan, as well as the 2024 horror-comedyStree 2, the 2023 period dramaGadar 2, the 2023 action dramaAnimal, and a 2025 movie that has now found new life on streaming.
Chhaava Is Performing Well On Netflix
The Movie Debuted On The Streamer Months After Arriving In Theaters
Chhaavahas become a Netflix success, having joined the streamer two months after kicking off its record-breaking theatrical run. The 2025 movie stars Vicky Kaushal (who was recently seen in the 2023Shah Rukh Khan movieDunki) as the real-life historical figure Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, loosely adapting his participation in the Maratha-Mughal conflict in the late 17th century. The movie broke box office records, eventually earning roughly ₹793.82 crore ($93 million) to becomethe eighth highest-grossing Bollywood movie of all timeand the 13th highest-grossing Indian movie in general.
Chhaavabroke a variety of other records, including becoming director and co-writer Laxman Utekar’s highest-grossing movie by the end of its opening weekend.
Netflixhas now calculated their global Top 10 chart for the most-watched non-English movies for the week of April 7 through 13.Chhaavahas landed at No. 4 on the chart, behindTEST(No. 3),Promised Hearts(No. 2), andThe Dad Quest(No. 1), with 2.2 million viewers amassing a total of 5.9 million viewing hours. In addition to being No. 1 in India, it was in the Top 10 in nine other territories across Asia and Africa, including Mauritius, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.
What This Means For Chhaava
It Could Help The Movie Find A New Audience
Although someNetflix Hindi moviescan find broad audiences in English-speaking territories, that has not yet been the case forChhaava. However, this may be because theBollywoodtitledid not have a substantial theatrical release in North America. In fact, roughly 88% of its record-breaking gross came from its release in its home territory, with international markets providing substantially less. This means it never built a foundation elsewhere, though its newfound streaming success may draw attention from those markets and help it become an even bigger streaming hit than it was a theatrical hit.
