No one saw it coming—now everyone wants a piece of the Saiyaara storm. With Rs 100 crore in four days, the movie's success story has left cinema halls buzzing and seats full.
"It is not a wave, it is a tsunami at the box office. People are pouring their emotions while watching the movie, they are dancing, taking off their shirts, they are crying. In my cinemas, I have seen people coming out of theatres with so many emotions, with tears," said Sanjay Barjatya, CEO, Roongta Cinemas, who calls the movie an added bonus for cinema business this year.
From multiplexes like PVR Inox to single screens, the unexpected blockbuster is proving to be a timely bonus for theatre chains. The film sold over 3.5 million tickets on BookMyShow for the opening weekend, one of the fastest-selling movies in recent months.
New faces --- Aneet Padda and Ahaan Panday, the lead pair of the romantic drama directed by Mohit Suri of the Aashiqui 2 are driving footfalls. "Ahaan and Aneet have delivered exceptional performances and have managed to strike a chord with audiences, especially in Tier 2 and Tier 3 towns. Saiyaara is also outperforming some major releases in the larger cities and multiplex hubs," said Bhuvanesh Mendiratta, Managing Director, Miraj Entertainment.
Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda have captured the relevance to and imagination of Gen Z and millennial viewers marking a strong debut, with the film’s soulful music and heartfelt narrative driving strong engagement pan-India, with cities like Delhi-NCR, Mumbai and Pune leading ticket sales, followed closely by Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Kolkata.
The newcomers have captured the relevance to and imagination of Gen Z and millennial viewers marking a strong debut, with the film’s soulful music and heartfelt narrative driving strong engagement pan-India, with cities like Delhi-NCR, Mumbai and Pune leading ticket sales, followed closely by Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Kolkata, said Ashish Saksena, COO (Chief operating Officer), Cinemas, BookMyShow.
Saiyaara surprise
"Saiyaara is a surprise. We had not calculated this in our balance sheet so this is a bonus, said Ashutosh Agarwal, director of Starworld Cinemas, adding that his cinemas recorded 90 percent occupancy in the last three days for the romantic drama.
Vishek Chauhan, owner of single screen theatre Roopbani Cinema in Bihar had all shows sold out from Friday, the opening day of Saiyaara. "Last time this happened was with Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai. We have not seen something like this in around 25 years. We are running five shows of Saiyaara and we will continue this because we have that kind of demand. The theatre is packed and this is across cinemas in my area. All those theatres that were not performing are now faring well," he said.
To everyone who keeps saying that single screen cinema is dead, they should see the crowd for Saiyaara, Chauhan added.
Multiplexes alike are seeing an overwhelming response.
PVR Inox registered over 15 lakh admits in three days and a blockbuster Sunday with 77 percent occupancy, noted Gautam Dutta, multiplex chain's CEO (Chief Exectuive Officer), Revenue and Operations.
"What’s especially exciting is the way it’s striking a chord with Gen Z audiences, who are turning up in large numbers. Mohit Suri’s signature blend of music, emotion, and visual poetry is clearly resonating. Saiyaara isn’t just a film—it’s a phenomenon. The weekend momentum is also continuing into Monday, with footfalls surpassing even Friday’s numbers," he added.
Saiyaara started its run with a business of Rs 22 crore and went on to collect Rs 26 crore and Rs 35.75 crore in the next two days. Exhibitors noted that the movie will have a good hold in the weekdays with an estimated business of Rs 20 crore on its first Monday.
"We are looking forward to even bigger numbers in the coming weekends. Saiyaara has set the tone for the second half of the year. If this momentum continues, we could be looking at a very exciting period for the exhibition business," said Mendiratta.
Much needed success
Chauhan expects the movie to sustain for a long period.
"It will probably have the longest run we have seen in a very long time. Non-starcast films don't open well but if they do then something special is brewing. It will be doing Rs 150 crore in one week and in the second week we expect Rs 50-60 crore. It will surpass Rs 200 crore mark with no sizable competition till War 2 (releasing on August 14). Also, Rs 300 crore for Saiyaara is definitely on. Anything above that is a dream. The cost of production is Rs 60 crore. Then there is overseas business. We are looking at 5x returns for YRF (Yash Raj Films -- the production company)."
Barjatya expects Saiyaara to become the second highest grosser of 2025 after Chhaava.
"Over the weekend we had multiple shows running houseful. It is already in the run of becoming the second highest grosser of the year after Chhaava which did Rs 120-125 crore in the first weekend. Until Sitaare Zameen Par released, our P&L (profit and loss) was under stress then numbers became positive after the Aamir Khan-starrer released. Now, Saiyaara has entirely changed the box office game. It is an added bonus. We were expecting the movie to be good but we were not expecting these kinds of numbers. This is totally unexpected and a blessing. We also have War 2 coming so we think the quarter (September quarter of FY26) looks really good," he said.
So far this year, Saiyaara has the fourth highest debut weekend among Bollywood releases after Chhaava with Rs 121.43 crore opening weekend earnings, Housefull 5 at Rs 91.83 crore and Sikandar at Rs 86.44 crore.
Saiyaara is a much-needed success story for the industry, said Mendiratta.
"The kind of footfalls we have witnessed in the first three days alone point to a Rs 300 crore potential, and this film has the legs to go the distance. It’s not just about the opening, it’s about the sustained pull, and Saiyaara seems poised to become one of those rare love stories that stays in theatres for weeks, possibly even through the run of big upcoming releases like War 2," he added.
This year Chhaava clocked Rs 615.39 crore, Housefull 5 has done Rs 198.41 crore business so far and is still running in theatres, Raid 2 collected Rs 179.30 crore and Sitaare Zameen Par earned Rs 163.32 crore.
"After Chhaava in February we had few a semi hit films including Sitaare Zameen Par. Business this year has been decent. And with good content scheduled in the coming months, it looks like 2025 will be better than 2024," said Agarwal.
The first six months of 2025 have recorded 14 percent higher business at Rs 5,723 crore versus 2024, according to media consulting firm Ormax Media's analysis. It is Rs 12 crore short of the 2022 record for January-June box office at Rs 5,738 crore. Hindi films Sitaare Zameen Par and Housefull 5 emerged as the top grossers in June while Kuberaa in Tamil and Telugu and Hollywood's F1: The Movie were the other major contributors to the month’s box office. In the first half of 2025, 17 films crossed the Rs 100 crore mark compared to only 10 films in 2024.
Fresh cast, full houses
While it has been hits and misses this year with the film industry still figuring out what will click with the audience, exhibitors noted that Saiyaara has reinvented the wheel with old school cinema magic.
"The old magic has worked again along with good music, tight script," said Agarwal.
"Saiyaara is a refreshing change at the box office, it’s a romantic film at heart, and we haven’t seen a strong, emotional love story click with audiences in a long time. There has always been an undercurrent of demand for a film that speaks to the heart, and Saiyaara managed to hit that sweet spot," said Mendiratta.
Chauhan recalled, "In the 70s and 90s, every month we had a romantic film with either Ayub Khan or Ronit Roy getting launched. This is also how the film industry got Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan, Salman Khan. Sunny Deol is also a by-product of a romantic film. That is how the launches happened but we have forgotten how this industry was built upon."
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