‘Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda have captured the relevance to and imagination of Gen Z and millennial viewers.’
Exceeding industry expectations, the Mohit Suri-directed Saiyaara, featuring debutants Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda, has found an audience with Gen Z with its compelling love story and musical tracks, pushing its global box office numbers over Rs 100 crore (Rs 1 billion) in the first few days of its release.
The romantic drama from the Yash Raj Films banner revolves around Krish Kapoor (Panday), a struggling musician, and a young writer (Padda) diagnosed with early-stage Alzheimer’s disease. The movie explores the feelings of love and loss through the relationship between its lead characters.
Saiyaara has already broken records for a movie led by debutants, by entering into the Rs 100 crore (Rs 1 billion) club in its first weekend.
Film trade analyst Girish Wankhede expects Saiyaara to be the fastest film to reach the Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion) mark.
Bhuvanesh Mendiratta, managing director, Miraj Entertainment, believes that the film has the potential to touch Rs 300 crore (Rs 3 billion) in its full run.
Cinepolis India anticipates the film to collect an additional Rs 60 crore to Rs 70 crore (Rs 600 million to Rs 700 million) in its second weekend.
Earlier, such excitement and momentum for films with new actors was seen in Dhadak, Aashiqui 2, and Kaho Naa… Pyaar Hai.
PVR INOX, India’s largest cinema exhibitor, said that the movie recorded over 1.5 million admissions in three days (opening weekend), with 77 per cent occupancy on Sunday.
For Miraj Cinemas, the film saw a footfall of about 250,000 people across its properties, with occupancy averaging slightly over 60 per cent for the opening weekend.
MovieMax Cinemas noted a footfall of over 100,000 people, with Rs 3 crore (Rs 30 million) in box office collection in 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, theatrical business can shine and bring audiences back to theatres, said officials of the country’s leading theatre chains.
“We increased the shows and added night shows to accommodate the high demand for Saiyaara. The film worked very well in the Hindi belt, including Delhi, Jaipur, Bhopal, Patna and Lucknow (driving demand),” said Devang Sampat, managing director, Cinepolis India.
“Saiyaara is expected to cross a footfall of one million 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 to 30 years.
The younger audience, he said, is showing up in large numbers, with many coming in for repeat viewings, reflecting on 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, Cinemas, 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,” Saksena added.
“Cities like Delhi-NCR, Mumbai and Pune are leading ticket sales, followed closely by Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Kolkata. Saiyaara is on the way to become one of the biggest opening weekend performers this year on the platform, second only to Chaava.”
Gautam Dutta, 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 numbers were significantly above average,” Dutta added.
Kunal Sawhney, COO, Moviemax Cinemas, said the film has seen a steady demand on weekdays, and expects similar footfall 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 has 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,” said Mendiratta.
“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,” Mendiratta added.
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 have 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 being a hit with the audiences prior to the film’s release.
Photographs curated by Satish Bodas/Rediff
