Little promotion, limited release and no big stars — Indian musical romance Saiyaara has defied the odds to become the second highest-grossing Indian film of the year.
Saiyaara premiered on July 18 and has grossed a total of $46.8M worldwide in under two weeks.
With its total box office gross running only behind historical action flick Chhaava, Saiyaara‘s commercial success has been unexpected, considering it had little promotion leading up to its release, only opened on a limited number of screens domestically, and featured two newcomers — Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda — as the film’s leads.
The film has also become the second highest-grossing Hindi film of 2025, surpassing major titles like Raid 2, Sitaare Zameen Par and Housefull 5, which all carried A-list stars in their cast.
Directed by Mohit Suri (Malang, Ek Villain Returns), Saiyaara tells the story of a troubled musician named Krish and a shy poet named Vaani. While Vaani writes, Krish sings and they both make music together. However, they are poles apart in their lives, beliefs and backgrounds.
Saiyyaara had one of the biggest opening days, earning $2.5 million in India, and has now grossed 318 Indian crores (over $36.5M) domestically.
In the U.S., Saiyyaara took $3.24 million across 215 screens, placing it as the ninth highest-grossing film in the country, according to Comscore.
