Virat tops the chart, SRK struts to third in India’s most valuable celebrities list
The rankings were revealed in financial and risk advisory firm Kroll’s latest Celebrity Brand Valuation report.
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Cricket superstar Virat Kohli has reclaimed his throne as the top celebrity in brand value, now reaching a staggering $227.9 million. He’s left Bollywood actor Ranveer Singh, who had edged ahead of Kohli in last year’s ranking, trailing in his wake, with Singh holding the second spot at $203.1 million, according to Kroll’s ‘Celebrity Brand Valuation Report 2023: Brands, Business, Bollywood’.
The report also showcases Shah Rukh Khan soaring to the third spot, thanks to his blockbuster hits Jawaan and Pathaan. With a brand value of $120.7 million, King Khan has catapulted from last year’s tenth place to solidify his star power.
Meanwhile, Akshay Kumar finds himself slipping to the fourth position with a brand value of $111.7 million, down from third in 2022. Alia Bhatt has also experienced a slight dip, landing in fifth place with a valuation of $101.1 million, previously fourth. Deepika Padukone holds the sixth spot, boasting a brand value of $96 million.
The combined brand value of the top 25 Indian celebrities has surged to $1.9 billion in 2023, marking an 18% increase from the previous year.
Among other things, what stands out the most from the list is SRK’s leap from 10th to 3rd in the power rankings. As per Aviral Jain, who is the managing director of valuation advisory services at Duff & Phelps, a Kroll Business, the remarkable growth of brand SRK comes on the back of the extravagant success the actor witnessed at the box office.
Aviral Jain
He says, “For SRK, the key driver has been the box office. He has two blockbuster hits against his name in Jawan and Pathaan. And, brands have subsequently tried to catch on to that success, resulting in his brand portfolio expanding by 60%. Also, his endorsement fee has seen a hike of another 25%. So overall, the brand value increase for Shah Rukh Khan has been more than 100% this year.”
Another notable change in the lineup is Kiara Advani, who has gone from 16th to 12th rank in just one year, with a brand valuation of $60 million in 2023. Rashmika Mandana, who saw terrific box office success with the blockbuster film Animal, has also risen through the ranks to claim the 20th spot in the list, having previously ranked 25th in 2022.
Jain explains, “Both these celebrities have been consistently doing reasonably well at the box office. If you look at their brand portfolios, they have been growing in double digits year on year. And their followership on social media is also adding to this positive shift.”
Rashmika Mandana isn’t the only southern actress in the top 25 celebrities list, however. Actor Allu Arjun has also charted his place in the list, ranking 22nd, ahead of Sara Ali Khan, Varun Dhawan, and Katrina Kaif.
As per Jain, with the increasing popularity of southern movies and the rise of creative folks from the industry, there is a trajectory of fusion between the two sets of celebs, resulting in a pan-India play from brands.
From an endorsement perspective, we tracked how many brands had endorsements from both Bollywood and South Indian cinema. In 2022, the number stood at 20. Now, it has jumped to 36.
“From the big-budget movies that we've covered, we've seen this fusion happening. For example, in Jawan, we had the South Indian director and for Animal we had Sandeep Reddy directing it with Rashmika being a part of it. To some extent the top blockbusters have had a good mixture of celebrities,” he says.
This, according to Jain, has also impacted the endorsement patterns in the country. “From an endorsement perspective, we tracked how many brands had endorsements from both Bollywood and South Indian cinema. In 2022, the number stood at 20. Now, it has jumped to 36.”
These endorsements include brands like Pepsi, featuring Ranveer Singh and Samantha Ruth Prabhu, and Fiama, featuring Sara Ali Khan and Rashmika Mandana.
As part of its analysis, the report examined the television presence of the top 25 celebrity brands in India. As per the report, these celebrities endorsed 311 product brands across 22 different industry segments during the 12-month period ending in November 2023. The top three most advertised brands on television are Harpic endorsed by Akshay Kumar; Lux Soap endorsed by Anushka Sharma, Kareena Kapoor Khan, and Virat Kohli; and Veet endorsed by Sara Ali Khan.
In digital, the top three most advertised brands on digital platforms are Pepsi endorsed by Ranveer Singh; Livspace, endorsed by Anushka Sharma and Virat Kohli; and JioCinema, endorsed by Alia Bhatt, MS Dhoni, and Sachin Tendulkar.
The cumulative number of product brand endorsements by the top 20 celebrities increased to 483 in 2023, marking an increase of 14.2% from 424 product brands in 2022. This growth can be attributed to the increase in the number of TV and digital endorsements which grew by about 7% and 5%, respectively, as per the report.
Here is the complete list of the top 25 celebrity brands and their brand valuation (USD million):
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