18 Best South Indian Movies 2022: Based on Instant popularity and Box Office success

South Indian Industry has left Bollywood way behind in terms of box office numbers in the year 2022. While Bollywood has seen only one 400-crore grosser this year, South Indian movies bagged 4 in the form of RRR, KGF-2, Vikram and Ponniyin Selvan: Part One.

Here we have included those south Indian films which created a huge pre-release buzz and further took the box office by storm. In the list, many films were released in dubbed Hindi versions as well which was well received by the viewers up north and went on to surpass the lifetime of Bollywood biggies. And it also has movies that saw an increase in earnings due to audience word of mouth.

Check out the list of 15 Best South Indian Movies of 2022 based on audience review, box office success, ratings, and critical acclaim.

1- RRR

IMDb Rating: 8/10

Box Office Collection (WW): 1140 Cr (including Japan)

Ace filmmaker S.S. Rajamouli’s magnum opus RRR created havoc at the box office. It is known that Rajamouli has a Midas touch, hence RRR had to perform well at the box office. It was released in March 2022 and went on to become the highest-grossing Indian film in 2022 and remains at the top position until Yash’s KGF-2 thronged the BO with its huge collections.

2- KGF 2

IMDb Rating: 8.4/10

Box Office Collection (WW): 1208 Cr

Prashanth Neel’s directorial had created a huge pre-release buzz for part 2 due to the popularity of part 1 across India. Sandalwood’s offering was released in pan India in multiple languages and emerged as the highest-grossing film in 2022, the all-time 2nd highest grosser in India, and the all-time third highest-grossing Indian film WW.

The third part, in the KGF franchise, is also on the way.

3- Ponniyin Selvan: Part One (PS1)

IMDb Rating: 8.1/10

Box Office Collection (WW): 488.36 Cr

Mani Ratnam’s dream project Ponniyin Selvan which had been in the making for a while, the part one finally arrived at the cinemas in Sept 2022. It stormed at the box office and went on to emerge as the all-time 2nd highest-grossing Tamil movie. It created and broke several box office records.

Part 2 or PS2 is set to be released in the summer of 2023.

4- Vikram

IMDb Rating: 8.4/10

Box Office Collection (WW): 414.43 Cr

Tamil action thriller “Vikram” stars Kamal Haasan aka Ulganayagan in the titular role. The film was released pan-India and emerged as the 3rd highest-grossing Tamil movie of all time. It stars powerhouses of south cinemas Fahadh Faasil, Vijay Sethupathi and Haasan. It also has a cameo appearance by Suriya.

5- Kantara

IMDb Rating: 9.1/10

Box Office Collection (WW): 407.82 Cr

The smash hit Kantara graced the cinemas on Sept 30. The film became a pan-India success and emerged as the 2nd all-time highest-grosser Kannada film after KGF2. Rishab Shetty directed, written, and acted in the film. It is bankrolled by Vijay Kiragandur’s Hombale films the banner is also behind the monster KGF 2. It also ranks at the no. 1 position in the IMDb top 250 Indian films list.

6- Valimai

IMDb Rating: 6/10

Box Office Collection (WW): 164.5

Thala Ajith Kumar’s “Valimai” is an action thriller, it marks the arrival of the superstar on the big screens after over 2 yrs. Directed and written by H. Vinoth and produced by Boney Kapoor under Zee Studios and Bayview Projects LLP. It received critical acclaim for its stunts and performances.

7- 777 Charlie

IMDb Rating: 8.9/10

Box Office Collection (WW): 102.75

Kiranraj K’s directorial 777 Charlie is an adventure comedy that stars Rakshit Shetty in the main lead. The small film made huge profits for those who invested in it and went on to churn out over 100 crores at the box office. Backed by G.S. Gupta and Rakshit Shetty under Paramvah Studios.

8- Karthikeya 2

IMDb Rating: 7.9/10

Box Office Collection (WW): 117.87

Karthikeya 2 serves as a sequel to the 2014 hit film Karthikeya. The film is directed and written by Chandoo Mondeti and bankrolled by the Kashmir Files producer Abhishek Agarwal. It emerged as a pan-India success in all versions, especially in Telugu and Hindi. Positive word of mouth drove the film’s biz at the box office.

9- Sita Ramam

IMDb Rating: 8.5/10

Box Office Collection (WW): 92.75 Cr

The period romantic Telugu film Sita Ramam received critical acclaim for the performance, story and visuals. It is directed by Hanu Raghavapudi and stars Dulquer Salman, Mrunal Thakur (Telugu debut), and Rashmika Mandanna.

10- Thiruchitrambalam

IMDb Rating: 7.9/10

Box Office Collection (WW): 117.2 Cr

The rom-com Tamil language film Thiruchitrambalam was out in cinemas on Aug 18. It grossed a huge over 100 crores at the box office emerging as a super hit. It was a critical success as well. Directed by Mithran R. Jawahar and backed by Kalanithi Maran’s Sun Pictures.

11- Etharkkum Thunindhavan

IMDb Rating: 6.5/10

Box Office Collection (WW): 71.4 Cr

Etharkkum Thunindhavan or ET is an action drama starring Suriya. It was out in cinemas on 10 March 2022 and was a critical and commercial success. It received praise for performances, BGM, cinematography, and action sequences.

12- Major

IMDb Rating: 8.2/10

Box Office Collection (WW): 58.2 Cr

The biographical action film is based on the life of Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan. It stars Adivi Sesh, Prakash Raj, Sobhita Dhulipala and Saiee Manjrekar in key roles. It is a bilingual film (Telugu and Hindi). It is produced by Mahesh Babu’s G Mahesh Babu Entertainment.

13- Don

IMDb Rating: 8.2/10

Box Office Collection (WW): 114 Cr

It is a coming-of-age comedy starring Doctor fame Sivakarthikeyan. It centers around a reluctant engineering student. Directed and written by Cibi Chakravarthi and backed by Allirajah Subaskaran and Sivakarthikeyan himself.

14- Sardar

IMDb Rating: 8/10

Box Office Collection (WW): 82.52 Cr

It has been the year of Tamil star Karthi, his all three releases Viruman, PS1, and Sardar emerged as successful at the box office. Sardar is an espionage film that was released on Oct 21 to rave reviews from critics. The sequel of the film has also been announced by the makers following its success at BO.

15- Bimbisara

IMDb Rating: 6.4/10

Box Office Collection (WW): 64.6 Cr

Nandamuri Kalyan Ram starrer Bimbisara was released on Aug 5 and completed the breakeven on the first weekend itself emerging as a clean hit. As per the reports, the sequel of the film will be released in 2023.

16- Love Today

IMDb Rating: 9.1/10

Box Office Collection (WW): 83.55 Cr

The Tamil smash hit “Love Today” has won the hearts of the cinephiles, the film opened with rave reviews from the critics and saw its biz grow due to word of mouth at the box office. Following, its success at the BO Tamil, the film releases in Telugu as well. It features debutante Pradeep Ranganathan, it marks his second directorial venture also.

17- Jaya Jaya Jaya Jaya Hey

IMDb Rating: 7.8/10

Box Office Collection (WW): 43.2 crores

The Malayalam film ‘Jaya Jaya Jaya Jaya Hey’ was released on 28 Oct in theatres and emerged as a huge hit at the box office. The film stars Darshana Rajendran and Basil Joseph in the roles of husband & wife.

It is a critically as well as commercially successful film. It received praise for the brilliant performances of the main leads, screenplay, cinematography, and music. It is available on Disney+Hotstar in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam.

18- Yashoda

IMDb Rating: 7.3/10

Box Office Collection (WW): 32.13 Cr

Yashoda is a woman-centric film which stars Samantha in the titular role. The film opened with mixed reviews from the critics and went on to become a hit at the box office. It is directed by Hari-Harish and produced by Sivalenka Krishna Prasad under Sridevi Movies.

Apart from the aforementioned critical and commercial successes, the South Indian industry churned out several hit flicks this year like Bangarraju, DJ Tillu, Sarkaru Vaari Paata, F3, Oke Oka Jeevitham/Kanam, Vendhu Thanindhathu Kaadu.

Some other are Anbarivu, Naane Varuvean, Bheeshma Parvam, Hridayam, Rorschach, Vikrant Rona, Dhamaka and James. We have created the list based on box office success, critics, audience reviews and ratings, however, you can also go out for these mentioned movies that were well received by the audience.