Saiyaara box office collection Day 1: Ahaan Panday-Aneet Padda's film beats Ajay Devgn, Aamir Khan's hits; becomes 4th biggest opener of the year with Rs 20 cr

Indian Express

19-07-2025

Saiyaara box office collection Day 1: Debuts can be tricky even if you are a legacy hire, but Yash Raj Studios and Mohit Suri just might have found the secret sauce. Saiyaara, starring two new actors, Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda, has completely defied expectations, and according to industry tracker Sacnilk, the film minted Rs 20 crore on its very first day in the theatres. Saiyaara is now the fourth biggest opener of the year after Chhaava (Rs 31 cr), Sikandar (Rs 26 cr) and Housefull 5 (Rs 24 cr).
Leading into the first day, the reviews for the film had been pretty decent, and the advance booking reports suggested quite an eventful first day. But even after all the promotional tactics put in place by the makers, no one could have anticipated such a blockbuster start to Saiyaara's theatrical run. This wasn't Aneet's first time facing the camera as she has previously appeared in Amazon Prime Video's Big Girls Don't Cry and Bollywood film Salaam Venky. For Ahaan, this was his debut although he has been photographed with his cousin Ananya Panday, and other star kids. While it can be argued that Ahaan's fame gave the makers some kind of insurance regarding the footfall in theatres, getting these kinds of numbers was surely unexpected.
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The film had over 7000 shows on its opening day. Throughout the day the occupancy rates of the film remained solid, averaging out at 49.9 percent. The morning and the afternoon shows achieved rates of 35.51 percent and 46.62 percent , while the evening and night shows performed even better with 50.85 percent and 66.62 percent. In the Delhi-NCR region, the film had over 800 shows with around 60 percent occupancy, and in the Mumbai region, the film had around 650 shows with around 43 percent occupancy.
To compare Ahaan's debut with other stars such as Tiger Shroff, or his own cousin Ananya, the Saiyaara star sits head and shoulders above all. Back in 2014, Tiger's Heropanti collected Rs 6.55 crore on its opening day, while Ananya's Dharma Productions film Student Of The Year 2 made Rs 12.06 crore. In 2025, stars like Ajay Devgn and Aamir Khan have had successes with films like Raid 2 and Sitaare Zameen Par, but even they did not have such a solid opening. Raid 2 made Rs 19.25 crore on its opening day and Sitaare Zameen Par earned Rs 10.7 crore. Sky Force, which starred Akshay Kumar and newcomer Veer Pahariya, opened at Rs 12.25 crore. By far, it looks like Mohit Suri might have the next big hit on his hands.
These numbers paint a very positive picture for Yash Raj Studios and director Mohit Suri, as the film has a lot riding on it, not to mention the careers of two budding actors. The film has managed to get a successful headstart, and the makers will be hoping to continue this momentum through the first weekend.