Who is the biggest star of Indian cinema 2026 based on salary and popularity update
The great Indian film industry has begun the New Year 2026 with a huge explosion. The battle for the top position has never been complicated before. We all know Thalapathy Vijay is making his final film. At the same time Allu Arjun is smashing salary records with his super hits, Pushpa 1: The Rise and Pushpa 2: The Rule. Meanwhile Prabhas is dominating the pan Indian cinema market. Now their fans are eagerly waiting for their upcoming movies to determine who the number-one star is.
Here we share the details of remuneration, upcoming movies and current popularity of India’s top five film stars.
| Rank | Star Name | Salary (Est.) | Next Movie |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Allu Arjun | ₹300 Crore | Atlee Movie |
| 2 | Thalapathy Vijay | ₹275 Crore | Thalapathy 69 |
| 3 | Rajinikanth | ₹200 Crore | Jailer 2 |
| 4 | Prabhas | ₹150 Crore | The Raja Saab |
| 5 | Mahesh Babu | Profit Share | SSMB29 |
1. ALLU ARJUN
After the success of Pushpa 2: The Rule, he made history by increasing his salary to 300 crore. With his reported salary he become the highest paid actor in India.
HIS SALARY (last update)
Some reports point out that Allu Arjun took a good amount of profit share that polished his earnings to approximately 300 crores. That’s why he is the highest paid Indian actor of last year.
WHAT'S NEXT?
There is some news about his next film with director Atlee, which is expected to be a big commercial entertainer.
POPULARITY STATUS
Allu Arjun, who is widely recognised as the icon star, who currently holds the strongest grip across India.
2. THALAPATHY VIJAY
2026 will bring several emotional moments for Vijay’s fans. Because he has entered politics and declared that his primary focus is his TVK party. And his aim is to serve the people. His 69th film, which is touted to be his last, is set for a massive release this year.
REMUNERATION
According to some reports, his estimated salary for his last film is 275 crore.
TRENDING NOW
It is expected that Jana Nayakan will break all previous opening day collection records in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Now, “Thalapathy 69th release date” is the keyword trending globally. And his fans are ready to give him a tremendous farewell.
3. PRABHAS
Apart from other actors, he created his own kingdom and stardom among fans; we all know that he is one of the box office monsters. His new film was released on 9th January 2026 during the time of Sankranti festival.
NEW FILM
Following the success of Kalki 2898 AD Prabhas new horror comedy The Raja Saab was released on January 9th 2026.
SALARY
Prabhas’s remuneration for his new project, Raja Saab, is estimated to be about 100- 150 crore. Some says he took a slight pay cut to make sure the budget for his new project Raja Saab remained feasible.
WHY HE MATTERS?
It’s pretty sure that his opening day box office will be over 90 crore +, even if the film becomes a flop.
4. SHAH RUKH KHAN
He is the king of Indian film industry. His last film was released in 2023, and for the past two years he has stayed quiet. But in 2026 he returns to his kingdom.
UPCOMING MOVIE
All are eagerly waiting for his new action thriller “KING”, which is directed by Siddarth Anand, is scheduled for release in late 2026. One of the specialities of the king movie is that SRK’s daughter Suhana Khan, is also starring alongside her father.
BUSINESS MODEL
SRK rarely takes a salary in movies because he is the owner of Red Chillies Entertainment and mainly focuses on profits. The total budget of the film “KING” is around 350 crore.
STATUS
SRK is always recognised as the face of the Indian cinema industry globally.
5. RAJINIKANTH
Last on this list but not least, he remains a super star to all Indian film fans. After all these years, his stardom and fan base show no sign of slowing down.
LATEST HYPE
After his last film, Coolie was a super hit, he is coming with Jailer 2, directed by Nelson Dilip kumar, in 2026. Jailer 2 is scheduled for release on 6th June, 2026.
REMUNERATION
He gets approximately 150-200 crore each film. At the same time his films get profit from OTT and satellite rights.
VERDICT
While other actors fight to become number one, Rajanikanth remains the all-time superstar.
SPECIAL MENTION: MAHESH BABU
While other stars are fighting for big salaries, Mahesh Babu is doing something different. For his big world-level movie with SS Rajamouli (SSMB29), he is not taking a salary. Instead, he will take a share of the profits. Experts say this might make him even bigger than Prabhas in the world market after 2026.
CONCLUSION
A strong study of salaries per film leads to the conclusion that Vijay wins the race. Because he gets more than others. However, when considering current hype and popularity, Allu Arjun is leading after the success of Pushpa 2: The Rule, on the other hand, the release of Jananayakan and other films will ultimately determine who dominates the box office hits in 2026.
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