From Saiyaara's craze to Adolescence top spot: 2025's viral hits that stole the show

The year 2025 is coming to an end, oh, what a year it has been when it comes to entertainment, and especially the surprise hits that no one saw coming. If we talk about big screens, the biggest and the surprise hit was Saiyaara, the Mohit Suri film that broke several box office records. The other surprise hit came from regional cinema, when the Malayalam film Lokah – Chapter 1 dominated the box office figures.

As we are set to wrap the year 2025, here, take a look at all the surprise hits of the year that audiences loved.

Vicky Kaushal delivered the biggest hit of the year in February. Directed by Laxman Utekar, the movie, which is an adaptation of Shivaji Sawant's 1980 Marathi-language novel, stars Kaushal as Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, the son of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.

The movie has been hailed for Kaushal's compelling performance as the Marathi ruler and for the gripping screenplay, grandness, and authenticity of the movie. A decent box office performance was expected from the film, but it outperformed and did exceptionally well at the theatres, earning Rs 716.91 crore in India. Globally, the movie earned over Rs 800 crore.

Adolescence, the four-part limited series, has become the triumph of OTT. Released on Netflix, the series has become Netflix's most-watched limited series of all time. It has been hailed as one of the most brutal and haunting series that must be seen as a masterclass in storytelling and technical aspects.

Very few movies saw the craze that Mohit Suri's film Saiyaara created. With debutants Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda, the movie, which initially looked like just another Aashiqui-type film, went on to become a cultural phenomenon, with people going berserk over the romantic drama. Reported to be made on a budget of Rs 45 crore (approx.), it went on to become one of the most profitable films of the year. It earned over Rs 500 crore at the box office, becoming the second-highest-grossing movie of the year.

Another viral hit movie of the year is Mahavatar Narshimha. The film achieved remarkable success. Ashwin Kumar's mythological animated movie broke all the records and went on to become the highest-grossing Indian animated film ever. The movie was made on a budget of Rs 40 crore, and it went on to earn Rs 300 - 325 crore, becoming the sixth-highest-grossing Indian animated film.

Not Marvel or DC, Lokah Chapter 1, a Malayalam superhero movie, has become a superhit. Led by Kalyani Priyadarshan, the movie had a quiet release with not much buzz but went on to dominate the headlines. With a fresh take on India's first female superhero, the movie stormed at the box office. Directed by Dominic Arun and produced by Dulquer Salmaan, the movie earned over Rs 300 crore at the box office, becoming one of the highest-grossing Indian films of 2025.