Mohit Suri’s romantic drama Saiyaara, starring newcomers Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda, hits theatres today (July 18) under the Yash Raj Films banner. Despite featuring debutants, the film has generated massive pre-release buzz and has already rewritten box office expectations.
According to Sacnilk, Saiyaara raked in ₹9.39 crore through advance bookings alone, selling over 3.8 lakh tickets. That’s more than the total day one collections of other debutant-led hits like Dhadak (₹8.76 crore) and Student of the Year (₹3.75 crore). Clearly, Saiyaara isn’t playing in the newcomers’ league anymore—it’s stepping into superstar territory.
In fact, its advance bookings have surpassed several star-studded films released this year. Akshay Kumar’s Sky Force managed ₹3.78 crore, Kesari Chapter 2 collected ₹1.84 crore, and Aamir Khan’s Sitaare Zameen Par stood at ₹3.32 crore. Even Ajay Devgn’s Raid 2 fell short with ₹6.52 crore. Only Salman Khan’s Sikandar performed slightly better in revenue with over ₹10 crore, but Saiyaara still beat it in ticket count (3.8 lakh vs 3.3 lakh) and sold nearly double in multiplex chains.
With such strong momentum, Saiyaara is now poised for a ₹20 crore-plus opening day—possibly the fourth-highest for a Hindi film this year, behind only Chhaava, Sikandar, and Housefull 5. If Friday holds strong, experts say it could even cross ₹25 crore, potentially beating Housefull 5.