Saiyaara's strong opening weekend sets sails for ₹200-300 cr at box office

Business Standard

5 days ago

Mohit Suri-directed Saiyaara, which marks the debut of Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda, has already exceeded industry expectations for films led by new actors, attracting strong footfalls from Gen Z and millennial audiences. The movie, which tells a compelling love story with captivating musical tracks, pushed its global box office numbers beyond Rs 100 crore over the first weekend of its release.
The romantic drama from the Yash Raj Films banner revolves around Krish Kapoor (Panday), a struggling musician, and a young writer diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's disease (Padda). It explores themes like love, loss, and memory through the relationship between its lead characters. Saiyaara has already broken records, entering the Rs 100 crore club in its first weekend with new actors in lead roles. Film trade analyst Girish Wankhede expects Saiyaara to be the fastest film to reach the Rs 200 crore mark with new actors, while Bhuvanesh Mendiratta, Managing Director of Miraj Entertainment, believes the film has the potential to touch Rs 300 crore in its full run. Cinepolis India anticipates the film to collect an additional Rs 60 to 70 crore in its second weekend.
In comparison, similar excitement and momentum for films with new actors were seen in Dhadak, Aashiqui 2, and Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai.
PVR INOX, India's largest cinema exhibitor, said the movie recorded over 15 lakh admissions in three days (opening weekend) with 77 per cent occupancy on Sunday. For Miraj Cinemas, the film saw about 2.5 lakh footfalls across its properties, with occupancy averaging slightly over 60 per cent for the opening weekend. MovieMax Cinemas noted over one lakh footfalls, with Rs 3 crore in box office collection for the opening weekend. Meanwhile, BookMyShow sold over 3.5 million tickets on its platform for the opening weekend, making it one of the fastest-selling movies in recent months. This reassures the industry that with the right content, the theatrical business can shine and bring audiences back to theatres, executives at PVR INOX, Cinepolis India, Miraj Cinemas, MovieMax Cinemas, and BookMyShow collectively stated.
'We increased the shows and added night shows to accommodate the high demand for Saiyaara. The film worked very well in the Hindi belt, with cities like Delhi, Jaipur, Bhopal, Patna, and Lucknow driving the demand,' said Devang Sampat, Managing Director, Cinepolis India. 'Saiyaara is expected to cross one million (10 lakh) footfalls in its first week, which underlines its strong resonance with audiences.'
Mendiratta added that the film has performed especially well in North India, with cities like Jaipur, Ludhiana, Lucknow, and Patiala reporting houseful shows. The film also has a strong connection with the age group between 15 and 30 years. He said that the younger demographic is showing up in large numbers, with many coming in for repeat viewings, which reflects the film's emotional impact.
'The film's early success reaffirms the audience's growing appetite for emotionally rich storytelling, especially when paired with fresh, relatable talent,' said Ashish Saksena, Chief Operating Officer (COO), BookMyShow. '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. Saiyaara is on its way to becoming one of the biggest opening weekend performers this year on the platform, second only to Chaava.'
Gautam Dutta, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Revenue and Operations, PVR INOX, said that the phenomenal response to Saiyaara is a strong testament to the film's emotional connect and the power of theatrical storytelling.
'What's especially exciting is the way it's striking a chord with Gen Z audiences, particularly in metros like Mumbai, Delhi-NCR, Bengaluru, and Pune, where youth footfalls were significantly above average. Saiyaara has also become a record-breaker, becoming the first film led entirely by debutant actors to enter the Rs 100 crore club within its opening weekend,' Dutta added.
Kunal Sawhney, COO, MovieMax Cinemas, said that the film has seen steady demand on weekdays and expects similar footfalls in the upcoming weekend. Similar to Miraj Cinemas, its properties across Lucknow, Ghaziabad, Pune, and Noida have significantly contributed to its overall performance.
'The momentum has been so strong that it's already impacted the release slate. Son of Sardar 2 has reportedly postponed its release due to Saiyaara's continued performance, and I believe that decision is directly linked to how well Saiyaara is holding ground. With major releases lined up in the coming weeks, it's rare to see a film maintain such a strong hold, but Saiyaara seems poised to run well into the release of big-ticket films like War 2,' said Mendiratta.
Wankhede explained that with the audience being overexposed to crime and thriller genres, Saiyaara fills the gap with its romantic and emotional theme. At the same time, the movie did not face any major competition with other releases on July 18. He also noted that the actors' minimal exposure in terms of promoting the movie created curiosity, with all its music tracks becoming a hit with the audience prior to the film's release.