Trade calls Sitaare Zameen Par success ‘massive win’ for Aamir Khan: Everyone wrote off urban films after Jawan, Animal | Bollywood-OxBig News Network

Sitaare Zameen Par has earned ₹66.50 crore domestically at the box office in its first four days. Its opening weekend was a strong ₹96 crore worldwide. All signs indicate that Aamir Khan seems to have broken his box office drought. His last hit came in 2016, almost a decade ago. Since then, Thugs of Hindostan (2018) and Laal Singh Chaddha (2022) failed to bring audiences to theatres.

‘Massive win for Aamir Khan’

Trade experts see the film’s success as a comeback for the superstar. “It’s a massive win for Aamir Khan. He took a bold decision, and audiences have respected his sincerity. It’s a little gem, the film is wonderful, it has fun and entertainment, but it also carries a strong social message. The film will be in theatres for a long time,” Kamal Gianchandani, chief of Business Planning & Strategy at PVR INOX Ltd and also the CEO of PVR INOX Pictures Ltd, told PTI. PVR INOX Pictures is the official distributor of Sitaare Zameen Par, which is adapted from the acclaimed Spanish movie, Campeones.

Trade insiders add that positive word of mouth has meant that footfalls in theatres for Sitaare on Monday could surpass Friday’s figures, an unusual occurrence.

“Even more impressive is that weekday box-office numbers are trailing the weekend by only a small margin, and we expect Monday footfalls to surpass Friday’s. This rare trajectory in the film industry doesn’t just point to commercial success—it reveals a deep, sustained emotional resonance with viewers, propelling the film into truly uncharted territory,” Devang Sampat, CEO of Cinepolis, said in a statement.

‘Everyone wrote off urban multiplex films’

Distributor-exhibitor Akshay Rathi added that the film’s performance at the box office marks the revival of the comeback of urban multiplex films. “The film has risen like a phoenix from day one to three. Post the pandemic, massy big films like Pathaan, Jawan, Animal, and Gadar 2 worked, and everyone wrote off urban multiplex films, but Sitaare Zameen Par marks the return of urban multiplex hits. The core business of the movie is from urban and multiplex audiences. This film is here for the long run, and its lifetime business should be ₹200 crores,” he told PTI.

Many in the industry have expressed faith in the film’s longevity, given how it has defied the initial low buzz and grown by word of mouth.

About Sitaare Zameen Par

Directed by RS Prasanna, Sitaare Zameen Par stars Aamir as an angry basketball coach who is ordered by the court to coach intellectually disabled players after a drunk-driving incident. The heartwarming sports drama also stars Genelia Deshmukh and ten newcomers, including Aroush Datta, Gopi Krishna Varma, Samvit Desai, Vedant Sharma, Ayush Bhansali, Ashish Pendse, Rishi Shahani, Rishabh Jain, Naman Mishra, and Simran Mangeshkar, all of whom are specially-abled. The film is produced by Aamir’s banner, Aamir Khan Productions.