India 3 Idiots returned 7.8× its production cost, earning $70.0M against a $9.0M budget — one of the highest-return India films in our catalog.
Synopsis
“Aal Izz Well!”
Rascal. Joker. Dreamer. Genius… You've never met a college student quite like "Rancho." From the moment he arrives at India's most prestigious university, Rancho's outlandish schemes turn the campus upside down—along with the lives of his two newfound best friends. Together, they make life miserable for "Virus," the school’s uptight and heartless dean. But when Rancho catches the eye of the dean's daughter, Virus sets his sights on flunking out the "3 idiots" once and for all.
Reception Benchmarks
Ranked #29 of 1,983 India films indexed here (99th percentile by TMDB audience score).
Rating is +1.6 points above the India average of 6.4/10.
Among India Drama productions specifically: #20 of 1,132 (top 2%).
Audience Engagement
2,154 audience reviews — more than 99% of India films in our index.
Popularity sits at the 98th percentile among India films.
Budget & Box Office Efficiency
At a 2h 50m runtime, production spent $53K per minute on screen and earned $412K per minute back.
Titles With Overlapping Themes
Films and series that share thematic tags with 3 Idiots. Number on each card indicates how many keywords overlap.
Other Titles From Vidhu Vinod Chopra Productions
Drama + Comedy in India
292 India titles in our catalog blend the Drama and Comedy genres. Below: the top-rated of them (excluding 3 Idiots itself).
The 2008–2010 India Window
Among 181 India films we catalog from this window, 3 Idiots places #2 — near the top of its class.
The 2000s India Landscape
2009 was the decade’s peak output year for India — 59 titles released, including 3 Idiots. Bars below show how the 2000s stacked up year by year (454 total).
Position in Catalog
Released alongside 58 other India films in 2009.
The 740th India title from India we index (earliest catalogued entry: 1913).
Our India catalog contains 1,983 titles in total (1,904 films).
Thematic Fingerprint
Tags on 3 Idiots, grouped by how common each theme is across the full Asian catalog. Rare tags are more distinctive signals.
- engineering · 3
- subjective camera · 2
- friends · 27
- suicide attempt · 22
- college · 20
- slapstick comedy · 7
- coming of age · 78
- suicide · 51
Production Details
| Primary Country | India |
|---|---|
| Original Language | Hindi |
| Spoken Languages | English, Hindi, Sanskrit |
| Production Companies | Vidhu Vinod Chopra Productions, Vinod Chopra Films |
| Runtime | 2h 50m |
| Release Date | December 23, 2009 |
| IMDb | tt1187043 |
Questions Answered
Was 3 Idiots profitable?
Yes — 3 Idiots earned $70.0M against a production budget of $9.0M, a return of 7.8× its cost.
How highly rated is 3 Idiots?
Among India Asian filmss in this catalog, 3 Idiots ranks #29 of 1983 — in the top 1%.