No superstar, no massive budget — yet this Bollywood film became blockbuster of 2025, not Dhurandhar or Chhaava

There is a stark difference between Bollywood’s pre- and post-COVID eras. While trade analysts argue that only massy films tend to work best in theatres, especially after the debacle of Laal Singh Chaddha, 83 and more films, 2025 witnessed a change. This year, Saiyaara emerged as a box office blockbuster. Neither a big ticket film nor starring A-listers, Saiyaara launched two new faces in Bollywood- Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda.

Saiyaara is helmed by Mohit Suri.

Highest grossing love story of 2025

Saiyaara became the highest-grossing love story in the history of Indian cinema ever, as per a report of Hindustan Times.

According to the report, the musical rom-com went on to surpass iconic films like Shah Rukh Khan-Kajol's Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge and Hrithik Roshan’s debut film Kaho Naa… Pyaar Hai.

Made on a modest ₹40 crore budget, Hindustan Times claimed that Saiyaara emerged as the only major film of the year to clock over a 10x return on investment.

From the film’s advance booking figures to its lifetime earnings, the film shattered several records during its theatrical run.

Box office success of Saiyaara

According to Sacnilk, Saiyaara’s final advance booking collection for its opening day stood at ₹9.39 crore. Reportedly, nearly 3.8 lakh tickets were sold during pre-sales alone. Trade analyst and insider Taran Adarsh posted on X, formerly Twitter, that Saiyaara sold 1,38,000 tickets across these circuits, including 1,05,000 tickets at PVR INOX and 33,000 at Cinepolis.

Notably, such an extraordinary opening-day impact was previously seen only with a few debutant films, including Hrithik Roshan’s Kaho Naa… Pyaar Hai and Abhishek Bachchan and Kareena Kapoor’s Refugee. Both films were released in 2000 and gained a similar reception on their opening day. Prior to 2000, Shah Rukh Khan’s Kuch Kuch Hota Hai saw the highest opening day with ₹87 lakh. On the other hand, Khan's Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge opened at ₹55 lakh. Even the forever green rom-com, Hum Aapke Hain Koun! had a comparatively modest opening of ₹10 lakh.

Saiyaara vs other hits of 2025

After the success of Saiyaara, many thought it might be a year of romantic comedies. However, it wasn't the case. If we look at other major hits of 2025 as per Sacnilk—be it the historical action-drama Chhaava ( ₹807.91 crore), spy thriller Dhurandhar ( ₹1,082 crore), or the epic mythological spectacle Kantara: Chapter 1 ( ₹851.89 crore), one pattern stands out: these films are powered by big budgets, star-studded casts, and grand, large-scale action sequences.

Hence, Saiyaara ( ₹569.75 crore) is the biggest romantic blockbuster of the year.

Other blockbuster films of the year include Coolie ( ₹518 crore), Mahavatar Narsimha ( ₹325.74 crore), War 2 ( ₹364.35 crore), Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra ( ₹303.67 crore), They Call Him OG ( ₹293.65 crore) and L2: Empuraan ( ₹265.5 crore).