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Saiyaara Box Office Collection Day 3: Backed by strong word-of-mouth and glowing reviews from critics and the Bollywood fraternity, Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda’s debut film Saiyaara has scored a bumper opening and delivered a record-breaking first weekend at the box office. The film is proving to be a trailblazer, setting a new benchmark for box office collections by debutant-led projects. According to Sacnilk, the film minted Rs 37 crore on Sunday, bringing its total domestic collection to Rs 83.07 crore.
The Mohit Suri directorial began its box office journey by minting Rs 21 crore. The film received positive word-of-mouth, with social media abuzz with visuals of packed theatres as audiences enjoyed the film, especially in theatres across tier I, II, and III cities in India.
The strong word-of-mouth helped the film register a 25 percent increase in collections on Saturday, earning Rs 25 crore. The momentum continued on Sunday, with collections surging by 48 percent to Rs 37 crore. Saiyaara recorded an overall 71.18% Hindi occupancy on Sunday, with peak turnout during the evening shows (88.15%), followed by the night (78.53%) and afternoon (78.53%) shows — showing consistent occupancy throughout the day.
The film also recorded the highest number of screenings — 1,120 shows — in the Delhi-NCR region, which also reported the highest occupancy. Delhi was closely followed by other major cities like Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad in terms of high turnout.
Saiyaara has emerged as one of the biggest openers and debut weekend earners for a newcomer in Hindi cinema. The film surpassed the total domestic collection of Alia Bhatt’s debut film Student of the Year (SOTY) within just three days of release. SOTY had minted Rs 70 crore in India in 2012.
In 2019, Ahaan Panday’s cousin Ananya Panday made her debut with SOTY 2. His film has already overtaken SOTY 2’s lifetime India collection of Rs 70.86 crore. Saiyaara is also on track to surpass the lifetime domestic earnings of Janhvi Kapoor’s debut film Dhadak, which stood at Rs 95.12 crore.
Saiyaara is already among the highest-grossing Hindi films of 2025. It has surpassed the lifetime India collection of John Abraham’s Diplomat, which stood at Rs 38.97 crore. The film is also expected to cross Rajkummar Rao’s Bhool Chuk Maaf, which earned Rs 90.78 crore in India.
At present, Saiyaara is trailing only behind the biggest releases of 2025 such as Chhava, Housefull 5, and Sikandar. It is expected to soon surpass Sunny Deol-starrer Jaat’s total domestic collection of Rs 88.26 crore. In fact, Jaat minted only Rs 26 crore within the first three days of release, compared to Saiyaara’s Rs 83.07 crore.
Trade analyst Taran Adarsh took to X (formerly Twitter) to laud the Mohit Suri directorial and how it successfully rejuvenated Hindi film industry. Taran emphasised that the film is a lesson for filmmakers on how to create cinema that resonates across generations while also being meaningful. He wrote, “The theatrical business has had a bumpy ride this year – kabhi khushi, zyada gham – and far too often, we’ve blamed the audience for not turning up at theatres the way they once did. But the problem lies with us – the industry… ⭐️ We stopped making the kind of films that compel the youth to flock to cinemas in hundreds and thousands – not just in metros, but even in Tier-2 and Tier-3 centres.”
He added, “⭐️ We stopped making youth-centric films that appeal not only to the younger generation, but also to families and seniors [myself included]. ⭐️ We stopped making films that moved us… The reactions to #Saiyaara on social media are out there for everyone to see… Personally, I was moist-eyed at several points while watching the film – and the finale moved me to tears. ⭐️ We stopped focusing on content – the very first step in the filmmaking process… We sidelined melodies that linger, treating music as mere filler.”
He admitted that filmmakers had been focusing solely on star power while ignoring the substance of their films. “⭐️ For many, star power became the be-all and end-all – and the neglect in writing and music was clearly visible. A young love story, driven by great music and heartfelt emotions, will always find its audience. I’m thrilled that #Saiyaara has struck gold.”
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