Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda’s romantic film Saiyaara is turning out to be the surprise Bollywood success story of the year in North America. As of August 6, the film has officially crossed the $5 million mark, bringing in an impressive $5.1 million, up from $4.5 million just three days ago. That’s over $600K added in no time!
The lead pair of Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda makes this scenario even more surprising. The film didn’t feature big Bollywood faces but still managed to open strong. In just four days, Mohit Suri’s romantic drama made a whopping $1 million, quickly gaining momentum and touching $3 million by Day 10. And three weeks in, it’s still holding strong without any major drop in collections.
Only behind Chhaava for now
By August 3, Saiyaara had already become the second highest-grossing Bollywood film in North America this year, trailing only Chhaava, the Vicky Kaushal-led epic that grossed around $6.4 million. With Saiyaara now at $5.1 million, the gap is closing but the big question is whether it can catch up before big releases like War 2 and Coolie hit theaters on August 14.
The word-of-mouth magic
Unlike most Bollywood hits abroad, Saiyaara isn’t riding on star power. It’s riding on emotion. The film’s steady growth points to strong word-of-mouth, especially among desi audiences in the US and Canada. Its music and heartfelt storytelling have clearly touched a nerve, a Mohit Suri signature that’s working wonders again.
The film has one more weekend to dominate before big-ticket films like War 2 (starring Hrithik Roshan and Jr NTR) and Coolie (featuring Rajinikanth, Nagarjuna, and Aamir Khan) take over the screens. How much further Saiyaara can climb depends on how long it can hold on before that box office clash.
No matter what happens next, Saiyaara has already made its mark. It has reignited Bollywood’s spark in North America, proved that newcomers can deliver hits and reminded us that good old romance still sells, especially when it comes with soul-stirring music and sincere storytelling.
Saiyaara domestic earnings
With a strong domestic earnings of Rs 304.6 crore in just 19 days, Saiyaara has now overtaken yet another iconic Hindi blockbuster. On Tuesday, the film collected Rs 2.5 crore, showing a slight uptick from Monday’s Rs 2.35 crore. With this, Saiyaara has surpassed Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s 2018 magnum opus Padmaavat, which had earned Rs 302.15 crore in India.
Next in its sights is Kabir Khan’s Bajrangi Bhaijaan (2015), starring Salman Khan and Kareena Kapoor, which Saiyaara is expected to overtake by the coming weekend.