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.
The 2008–2010 India Window
181 India films released in this three-year window, ranked here by audience rating. 3 Idiots sits at position #2.
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
The 2000s India Landscape
Catalog density by release year in the 2000s. Highlighted year (yellow) is when 3 Idiots premiered. 454 total titles in this decade from India.
Budget & Box Office Efficiency
At a 2h 50m runtime, production spent $53K per minute on screen and earned $412K per minute back.
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%).
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 |
External Catalogs
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%.