Best-selling Iranian films of 1405 (2026/27) through the end of Mehr

Iran's cinema box office got off to a slow start in 1405 (2026/27). Farvardin (March–April) coincided with the days of the forty-day war, and cinemas operated on a limited basis depending on conditions in each city. Comedy films were also not released until 21 Farvardin. In the month as a whole, about 214,000 film tickets were sold, less than one-tenth of the figure for Farvardin 1404 (2025/26). From Ordibehesht (April–May), admissions gradually increased, and Mehr (September–October) has been the best-selling month of the year so far. In the same period, “Madam Mother”, directed by Soheil Movaffagh, opened on 25 Shahrivar (August–September) and earned 264.6 billion tomans by the end of Mehr. The film leads the year's list of top-grossing films by a wide margin.

This note examines the year's ten top-grossing films through the end of Mehr and compares them with the top-grossing films of 1404. The data were collected from the cinema ticket sales system (SAMFA). According to these data, cinemas across the country sold 9.15 million film tickets in the first seven months of the year, and their revenue reached 1,165 billion tomans. SAMFA recorded sales for 304 film titles. However, most of the revenue went to a limited number of films, and the top ten films accounted for nearly 88 percent of revenue.

Which are the top-grossing Iranian films of 1405 (2026/27)?

The list below shows the ten top-grossing films from Farvardin to Mehr 1405 with their director, genre and release date.

Rank	Film	Director	Genre	Release date	Revenue (billion tomans)	Admissions
1	Madam Mother	Soheil Movaffagh	Comedy	25 Shahrivar 1405	264.6	1,939,580
2	The Death Bath	Kazem Daneshi	Mystery	24 Tir 1405	195.7	1,411,348
3	Swimming Pool	Soroush Sehhat	Comedy	24 Tir 1405	173.6	1,281,395
4	Adventure on James Bond Island	Bahman Goudarzi	Comedy	9 Dey 1404	92.9	752,477
5	Antique	Mohammad Hadi Naeiji	Comedy	2 Ordibehesht 1405	63.3	549,125
6	Escort	Yousef Hatamikia	Drama	11 Shahrivar 1405	61.7	450,637
7	Tehran Beside You	Ali Behrad	Melodrama	23 Ordibehesht 1405	55.1	385,447
8	Rescue Ship	Hadi Mohammadian	Children and young adults	4 Shahrivar 1405	49.9	508,596
9	End of Debate	Soheil Movaffagh	Comedy	5 Azar 1404	43.0	354,383
10	Napoleon dar Bagh-e Zardalu	Hamed Mohammadi Roozbahani	Drama	4 Shahrivar 1405	23.1	184,484

Two films on this list, “Adventure on James Bond Island” and “End of Debate”, were released in 1404 (2025/26), and the table shows only their sales in 1405.

Weekly sales of “Madam Mother”

Sales of “Madam Mother” were high from the first weeks of its release. In its first full week on screen, from 28 Shahrivar to 3 Mehr, the film sold nearly 484,000 tickets. Weekly ticket numbers then gradually declined, but in the last week of Mehr the film was still the best-selling film in cinemas, with about 241,000 tickets.

Week	Tickets	Revenue (billion tomans)
21 to 27 Shahrivar	118,078	21.1
28 Shahrivar to 3 Mehr	483,897	67.7
4 to 10 Mehr	456,742	62.2
11 to 17 Mehr	365,172	49.1
18 to 24 Mehr	322,147	41.5
25 Mehr to 1 Aban	241,081	31.2

Revenue from “Madam Mother” in Mehr reached 217 billion tomans, nearly two-thirds of the revenue of all films in that month.

With this revenue, the film ranks fourth on SAMFA's list of top-grossing films since 1400 (2021/22). Only “Seventy Thirty”, “Fossil” and “Hotel” have earned more. This comparison is in nominal tomans and is not adjusted for inflation. By admissions, “Fossil”, with about 7.5 million admissions, remains at the top for this period.

The ten top-grossing films of 1405

The year's top ten films, however, are not alike in genre or release timing. The list brings together family comedies, a mystery and several dramas. Each of these films is introduced separately below.

1. Madam Mother

“Madam Mother” is about two indebted brothers who come into an inheritance and resort to any means to pay off their ten-billion debt. Reza Attaran and Abbas Jamshidifar play the lead roles in this comedy directed by Soheil Movaffagh. The film opened on 25 Shahrivar and had nearly 1.9 million admissions by the end of Mehr. Slightly more than 40 percent of its revenue came from Tehran province. The film's producer, Seyed Ebrahim Amerian, had earlier produced “End of Debate” with the same director, which ranks ninth on this list.

2. The Death Bath

“The Death Bath”, directed by Kazem Daneshi, follows one night in the work of Morteza Zand, a representative of the prosecutor who has traveled to another city to carry out the sentence of five people convicted of murder. Bahram Afshari plays Zand, and Sara Bahrami, Hamed Behdad and Amir Jafari also appear in the film. “The Death Bath” was screened at the 44th Fajr Film Festival and won the Crystal Simorgh for best director and best actor in a leading role. Its general release began on 24 Tir (June–July). In its best-selling week, 3 to 9 Mordad (July–August), the film sold more than 200,000 tickets. “The Death Bath” earned 195.7 billion tomans by the end of Mehr and is the only non-comedy among the year's top three films.

3. Swimming Pool

“Swimming Pool”, directed by Soroush Sehhat, is about a husband and wife who have been married for more than twenty-five years, and the wife has now decided to separate. Amin Hayaei and Sahar Dolatshahi play the couple, and Mehran Modiri also appears in the film. “Swimming Pool” had also been screened at the Fajr Festival of 1404 (2025/26) and was released at the same time as “The Death Bath”. These two films took the largest share of cinema revenue through the end of summer. “Swimming Pool” earned 173.6 billion tomans and had about 1.3 million admissions by the end of Mehr.

4. Adventure on James Bond Island

This comedy, directed by Bahman Goudarzi and starring Mohsen Kiaei, Sam Derakhshani, Mahyar Hassan and Behrad Kharazi, has been on screen since 9 Dey (December–January) 1404. Its run has been longer than that of the other films on the list, and it had sold tickets for thirty weeks by the start of Aban (October–November). Its best-selling week came five months after its release. In the week of 2 to 8 Khordad (May–June), the film sold more than 92,000 tickets. “Adventure on James Bond Island” was also the best-selling film of Khordad. Its revenue in 1405 (2026/27) reached 92.9 billion tomans.

5. Antique

“Antique”, directed by Mohammad Hadi Naeiji, is about Ebi and Vali, two longtime antique dealers whose business lost its prosperity after the Revolution; the money-filled shrine of an imamzadeh changes the course of their lives. Pejman Jamshidi and Bijan Banafshehkhah play the two. The film was first screened at the 43rd Fajr Film Festival and went on general release on 2 Ordibehesht 1405. With 33 billion tomans, “Antique” was the best-selling film of Ordibehesht, and it earned 63.3 billion tomans by the end of Mehr.

6. Escort

“Escort”, directed by Yousef Hatamikia, is a road movie. In the film, a soldier from Tehran doing his military service in the south agrees to accompany a female smuggling driver (a “shooti”) and her cargo in order to pay for expensive medicine for his sick friend. Amir Jadidi and Hoda Zeinolabedin play the lead roles. At the 1404 Fajr Festival, the film won the Crystal Simorgh for sound and editing, and it shared the Crystal Simorgh for best film by audience vote with “The Death Bath”. “Escort” has been on screen since 11 Shahrivar and earned 61.7 billion tomans by the end of Mehr. More than half of this revenue came from Tehran province, the highest Tehran share among the top ten films.

7. Tehran Beside You

“Tehran Beside You” is about Leili and Pasha, two former lovers who meet again at the wedding of one of their friends. Ali Behrad is the writer and director of the film, and Ali Shadman, Anahita Afshar and Ali Mosaffa act in it. The film opened on 23 Ordibehesht and, with 39.5 billion tomans, was the second best-selling film of Khordad. Its revenue reached 55.1 billion tomans by the end of Mehr. Like “Escort”, this film earned more than half of its revenue in Tehran province.

8. Rescue Ship

“Rescue Ship” is the only animation on this list. It was made by Hadi Mohammadian, director of “The Elephant King” and “The Prince of Rome”. The story takes place on a distant planet, where a girl named Darya waits for a legendary hero to save her people from the “Abdozaks”. The film has been on screen since 4 Shahrivar. With about 509,000 admissions, “Rescue Ship” drew more viewers than “Escort” and “Tehran Beside You”, but its revenue was 49.9 billion tomans. The average ticket price for this film was about 98,000 tomans, lower than the average for the first seven months of the year. Tehran's share of this animation's revenue was less than 36 percent, the lowest share among the top ten films.

9. End of Debate

“End of Debate” is Soheil Movaffagh's second film on this list and has been on screen since 5 Azar (November–December) 1404. In the film, Nader suddenly returns to Iran from Istanbul, and the family turns to a surrogacy ploy to pay the rent. Mehran Ghafourian, Mohsen Kiaei and Iman Safa are among the cast. “End of Debate” was first screened at the Fajr Festival of 1403 (2024/25). In Farvardin 1405, with 3.3 billion tomans, it was the second best-selling film of the month. Its revenue in the first seven months of the year reached 43 billion tomans.

10. Napoleon dar Bagh-e Zardalu

“Napoleon dar Bagh-e Zardalu” is about Bahman and Yahya, who plan the biggest robbery of their lives while in prison; after their release, greed for more money draws them into a troublesome affair. Saeed Aghakhani and Amir Jafari play the two prisoners. The film opened on 4 Shahrivar, at the same time as “Rescue Ship”, and by the end of Mehr it had earned 23.1 billion tomans with about 184,000 admissions.

Top-grossing Iranian comedy films of 1405

Comedy is again the leading box office genre in 1405. SAMFA recorded the genre of eleven films in these seven months as comedy. Together, these eleven films earned 669 billion tomans, nearly 57 percent of total revenue for the period. Comedy's share of tickets was about the same.

By contrast, twelve drama films earned a combined 138 billion tomans. Among the top three films, “The Death Bath” is the only non-comedy. The genre of the other 284 titles is not recorded in SAMFA, but their combined revenue is less than 19 billion tomans. The large share of comedy at the box office is not new. The note “A review of Iranian comedy cinema” examines the course of this genre from the 1360s (1980s) to the present.

Monthly cinema revenue in 1405 (2026/27)

The table below compares revenue for each month of 1405 with the same month in 1404 (2025/26).

Month	Tickets 1405	Revenue 1405 (billion tomans)	Tickets 1404	Revenue 1404 (billion tomans)
Farvardin	214,459	17.7	2,393,719	202.5
Ordibehesht	942,609	100.3	2,271,679	164.8
Khordad	1,062,528	140.1	1,466,688	117.3
Tir	600,881	79.6	1,604,531	127.8
Mordad	1,490,946	215.1	2,926,466	244.6
Shahrivar	2,236,884	270.3	2,422,586	188.5
Mehr	2,598,455	341.8	2,493,924	192.7

The number of tickets increased from Ordibehesht, fell again in Tir and rose steadily from Mordad. In Mordad, “The Death Bath” and “Swimming Pool” accounted for most of the revenue. Of the 215 billion tomans earned in Mordad, these two films took a combined 177 billion tomans. With 2.6 million tickets, Mehr is the best-selling month of the year so far, and its ticket count was 4 percent higher than in Mehr 1404.

Ticket prices and comparison with the same period of 1404

Even so, the number of tickets in the first seven months of 1405 is still 41 percent lower than in the same period of 1404. Revenue in tomans fell by only 6 percent, from 1,238 to 1,165 billion tomans. This difference was offset by higher ticket prices. The average ticket price rose from about 79,000 tomans in the first seven months of 1404 to about 127,000 tomans. The monthly price trend is examined in the note “Average cinema ticket price in Iran from 1400 to Mehr 1405”.

Top-grossing films of 1405 alongside those of 1404

In 1404, no film reached 200 billion tomans in revenue.

Top-grossing film of 1404	Director	Genre	Revenue 1404 (billion tomans)	Admissions 1404
The Man with Glasses	Karim Amini	Comedy	182.5	2,352,484
The Old Bachelor	Oktay Baraheni	Drama	181.5	2,021,380
Mr. Leech	Mehran Ahmadi	Comedy	143.7	1,722,133
Saddam	Pedram Pouramiri	Comedy	134.8	1,686,725
Dinosaur	Masoud Atyabi	Comedy	106.3	1,305,584

“The Man with Glasses”, directed by Karim Amini, was the top-grossing film of 1404 with 182.5 billion tomans, and “The Old Bachelor”, directed by Oktay Baraheni, earned only one billion tomans less. “Madam Mother” has overtaken both films in less than two months. Its admissions, however, have not yet reached those of “The Man with Glasses”. “Madam Mother” had 1.94 million admissions by the end of Mehr, while “The Man with Glasses” had 2.35 million over the whole of 1404. Four of the five top-grossing films of 1404 were comedies, and “The Old Bachelor” was the only exception.

Tehran and other provinces

Tehran province remains the largest market for Iranian cinema. Of every ten tickets sold in these seven months, four were sold in Tehran province. The province's share of revenue in tomans reached 45 percent, because the average ticket price in Tehran is higher than the national average. Khorasan Razavi, with about 1.1 million tickets, and Isfahan, with 784,000 tickets, come after Tehran.

Tehran's share of revenue is not the same for every film. “Escort” and “Tehran Beside You” earned more than half of their revenue in Tehran province. By contrast, Tehran's share of revenue from “Rescue Ship” was less than 36 percent.

Frequently asked questions

What is the top-grossing Iranian film of 1405 (2026/27)?

“Madam Mother”, directed by Soheil Movaffagh, is the top-grossing film of the year, with 264.6 billion tomans in revenue through the end of Mehr (September–October) 1405.

Which films currently on screen are selling the most?

In the week ending 1 Aban (October–November) 1405, “Madam Mother” was the best-selling film in cinemas with 241,081 tickets. “Bidar”, directed by Hossein Doumari, was second with 82,472 tickets, and “Rescue Ship” was third with 51,610 tickets.

What is the top-grossing comedy of 1405?

“Madam Mother” is this year's top-grossing comedy. “Swimming Pool”, directed by Soroush Sehhat, follows with 173.6 billion tomans.

What is the top-grossing film in Iranian cinema from 1400 (2021/22) to today?

In SAMFA data from 1400 onward, “Seventy Thirty”, directed by Bahram Afshari, has the highest revenue with 360.4 billion tomans. By admissions, “Fossil”, directed by Karim Amini, ranks first with 7.49 million admissions.

Where do the film sales figures come from?

These figures are compiled from the public report of SAMFA, the cinema ticket sales system. Namafar retrieves this report every night and uses it to update the live charts on the site.

Sales for each film and each week are presented in more detail on the page “Iranian cinema sales and box office statistics” and in the SAMFA dashboard.