Prior to 1394 (2015/16), Iranian animation had almost no cinema admissions. "Princess of Rome" drew nearly one million people into theaters and showed that a market exists. In 1402 (2023/24), "Bacheh Zerang" set a new record with nearly two million admissions. Since then, every few years one Iranian animation has joined the year's top-grossing films, and a few have also made their way into cinemas outside Iran. This page reviews the highest-grossing Iranian animations with their admissions and international box office figures.
Highest-grossing Iranian animations in Iranian cinema
| Rank | Animation | Year of release | Admissions | Share of that year's total admissions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bacheh Zerang | 1402 (2023/24) | 1,922,361 | 6.8% |
| 2 | Babai Ghahraman | 1403 (2024/25) | 1,570,997 | 4.5% |
| 3 | Yuz | 1404 (2025/26) | 1,564,647 | 6.8% |
| 4 | The Elephant King | 1397 (2018/19) | 1,155,792 | 4.4% |
| 5 | Princess of Rome | 1394 (2015/16) | 918,263 | 7.1% |
| 6 | Dolphin Boy | 1401 (2022/23) | 910,846 | 6.7% |
| 7 | Lopeto | 1401 (2022/23) | 817,885 | 6% |
| 8 | Benjamin | 1398 (2019/20) | 620,628 | 2.4% |
| 9 | A Passenger from Ganora | 1402 (2023/24) | 421,785 | 1.5% |
| 10 | Dolphin Boy 2 | 1404 (2025/26) | 383,529 | 1.7% |
The interesting point is the last column. "Princess of Rome" and "Dolphin Boy" were released in years when the overall cinema market was small (about 13 million admissions in 1394 (2015/16) and about 13.5 million in 1401 (2022/23)). For that reason their market share is larger than that of "The Elephant King," which was released in the boom year of 1397 (2018/19) with 26 million admissions. "Bacheh Zerang" had both a higher number of admissions and a high share, because in 1402 (2023/24) the cinema market had grown large again (28 million admissions).
In 1401 (2022/23) two Iranian animations were at the box office at the same time and together took nearly 13 percent of that year's cinema admissions, the largest share for Iranian animation in the available data. In 1404 (2025/26), "Yuz," with 1.6 million admissions in a year when the overall market had fallen to 23 million, took seven percent of cinema admissions and became the fifth most-watched film of the year.
Iranian animation in world cinemas
The Elephant King in Lebanon and Arab countries
After its domestic release, "The Elephant King" also went on screen in Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan and the UAE. According to its makers, its box office in Lebanon was about half a million dollars and placed it on the list of the highest-grossing animations in the history of Lebanese cinema.
Dolphin Boy in Russia and Europe
"Dolphin Boy" is the most successful Iranian animation in the global market. According to its producer, the film was screened in Russia in more than two thousand halls, grossed about 1.7 million dollars in two weeks, and its broadcast rights for Russian television and platforms sold for about another one million dollars. After Russia it was also released in Turkey, Serbia, Spain, Bosnia and Montenegro, and it received pre-sales for its series version.
This box office should be seen at the right scale: 1.7 million dollars is a large figure for an Iranian film abroad, but an average Hollywood animation sells several times that in the same Russian market. The advantage of Iranian animation is lower production cost and stories that are acceptable to families in different countries.
Why is Iranian animation not more present at the box office?
- Cost and time: A feature-length theatrical animation requires two to four years of work and a hundred-person team. "Dolphin Boy" was made in about two years with two hundred people. Such capital is high-risk for the private sector.
- Screenings and halls: Children's animation is seen more in daytime and weekend screenings and, in competition with top-grossing comedies, gets fewer halls.
- Competition with foreign animation at home: Iranian children watch animation more on home video and television, where the catalog is mostly foreign. On Digitoon, the largest children's platform, see the share of Iranian works on the Digitoon dashboard.
Frequently asked questions
Which is the highest-grossing Iranian animation?
"Bacheh Zerang" (1402 (2023/24)) with 1.9 million cinema admissions in Iran, followed by "Babai Ghahraman" (1403 (2024/25)) and "Yuz" (1404 (2025/26)). In foreign box office, "Dolphin Boy" (1401 (2022/23)).
Which Iranian animations have been released abroad?
Among the best known are "The Elephant King" (Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan, the UAE and Russia) and "Dolphin Boy" (Russia, Turkey, Serbia, Spain and several other countries). "Benjamin" and "Lopeto" also appeared at many foreign festivals.
A fuller introduction to these films and Iranian television cartoons is in Best Iranian animations.
Sources
- Statistical yearbook of film box office and Iranian cinema, 1364–1404 (1985–2026) (full text of the 1401 (2022/23), 1402 (2023/24), 1403 (2024/25) and 1404 (2025/26) yearbooks in the reference reports), on the cinema yearbook dashboard
- Mehr News Agency, interview with the makers of "Dolphin Boy," Shahrivar (August–September) 1401 (2022/23)
- Saba Cinema News Agency and Hamshahri Online on the foreign release of "The Elephant King"
Machine-translated from Persian by Namafar; the Persian original is authoritative. Read the original in Persian