‘Saiyaara’ Defies Box Office Gravity With Screen Expansion

Yash Raj Films‘ latest romantic offering “Saiyaara” is rewriting the playbook for Indian theatrical releases, bucking industry trends with a rare screen expansion in its second week of release.

The Mohit Suri-directed film has surged from 2,225 screens in its opening week to a packed 3,650 theaters, defying the conventional wisdom that screen counts typically decline after the first week. The expansion comes on the heels of the film’s blistering box office performance, which has collected $29.5 million in just seven days. $5 million of this is from the international box office and the rest from India.

The film stars Ahaan Panday, making his debut, and emerging star Aneet Padda (Prime Video’s “Big Girls Don’t Cry”). Panday stars as Krish Kapoor, a rising musician whose raw talent and ambition set him on a collision course with the realities of the modern music industry. When Krish is introduced to Vaani Batra (Aneet Padda), a gifted and principled songwriter, sparks fly – both creatively and personally. As their partnership deepens, so does their connection, blossoming into a romance that is as passionate as it is complicated.

In India, “Saiyaara” emerged as the film with the second highest opening weekend of the year, behind “Chhaava,” which is currently the top grossing Indian film of 2025.

Produced by Yash Raj Films CEO Akshaye Widhani, “Saiyaara” has emerged as a blockbuster, transforming its lead actors Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda into overnight sensations and Gen Z darlings across India.

“Saiyaara” achieved one of the biggest opening day office performances recorded by a debutant-led project in Indian cinema history and marks the most significant ticket sales for a debut film since 2000’s “Kaho Naa… Pyaar Hai,” which launched Hrithik Roshan and Ameesha Patel, and “Refugee,” where Kareena Kapoor bowed alongside Abhishek Bachchan. The film has also etched its name in the record books by registering the highest opening week ever for a romantic film.

Competition at the box office arrived on Friday in the shape of mythological film “Mahavatar Narsimha,” action film “Hari Hara Veera Mallu – Part 1 Sword vs Spirit,” and Marvel’s “The Fantastic Four: First Steps.”