Virat Kohli retains India’s celebrity brand valuation at $231 mn; Ranveer, SRK, Alia, Sachin among top five

Kroll, the leading independent provider of global financial and risk advisory solutions, has unveiled its latest ranking of India’s most powerful celebrity brands for 2024, estimating the collective brand value of the top 25 celebrities at $2 billion - an increase of 8.6% from the previous year.

Read more: Celebrity-led brands in WROGN; faced with lackluster growth, consumer fatigue

The rankings are derived from an assessment of brand endorsement portfolios and relative social media presence.

Virat Kohli continued his reign at the top, commanding a staggering brand value of $231.1 million. His enduring dominance underscores his unmatched influence among Indian celebrities.

Actor Ranveer Singh retained the second spot despite his brand value slipping to $170.7 million, while Shah Rukh Khan held on to third place with a sharp 21% jump in value to $145.7 million.

Alia Bhatt, with $116.4 million, climbed to the fourth position, and cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar rounded off the top five at $112.2 million, buoyed by a significant rise in endorsements.

The report also highlighted emerging shifts in the celebrity landscape.

Read more: Kroll's Aviral Jain on Virat Kohli reclaiming top spot with brand value of $227.9 million

Kriti Sanon surged to the 19th rank, while Tamannaah Bhatia (21), Jasprit Bumrah (22), and Ananya Panday (25) all entered the top 25, signaling widening brand appeal across categories and regions.

Beyond the celebrity valuation charts, Kroll noted important structural shifts in India’s entertainment industry.

Hindi cinema’s share of the domestic box office declined to 39.5% in 2024, while South Indian films expanded their dominance to 47.7%, mirroring evolving audience preferences.

Over-the-top (OTT) platforms now contribute more than half of revenues for major releases, even as big-budget spectacles remain strong theatrical draws.

Interestingly, nostalgia emerged as a powerful driver of audience engagement.

Bollywood re-releases such as Jab We Met and Tumbbad collected nearly 50% and 70% of their original box office runs respectively, while Tollywood’s Ghilli re-release achieved 35% of its original earnings. These successes reaffirm the pull of cinematic nostalgia across industries.

Kroll’s report concludes that the future of Indian entertainment lies in a hybrid model that blends the grandeur of theatrical releases with the digital reach of OTT platforms, a shift that will shape the brand value of stars in the years ahead.

Read more: Ranveer Singh beats Virat Kohli to become most valuable celebrity in 2022

Umakanta Panigrahi, Managing Director, Valuation Advisory Services, Kroll said, “In 2024 we witnessed that the future of Indian cinema lies in synergy, indeed, OTT content and theatres complement each other. Audiences can now have the best of both worlds: grand theatrical experiences and intimate storytelling at home.

As the industry continues to adapt this hybrid model, it could very well become its strongest era yet. Finally, following a stagnant phase in the cinema business, re-releases have put film theatres back on the map. As a result, cinemas have also definitely re-established their position in the industry as a strong competitor, proving that nothing can replace the feeling of watching a film in a theatre!”