Aamir Khan's "Sitaare Zameen Par" has had a promising start at the Indian box office, collecting an estimated ₹59.90 crore during its opening weekend. While the film fell slightly short of the anticipated ₹60 crore mark, the numbers indicate a strong performance driven by positive reviews and word-of-mouth, particularly among families.
The film showed consistent growth throughout the weekend. According to early estimates, "Sitaare Zameen Par" earned ₹29.00 crore on Sunday, marking a significant jump from its opening day collection of ₹10.7 crore. Saturday saw a substantial increase as well, with collections reaching ₹20.2 crore. This upward trend demonstrates the film's increasing popularity and positive reception from audiences.
"Sitaare Zameen Par" has resonated well with moviegoers, with many praising its emotional storyline and family-friendly content. This has translated into high occupancy rates in cinemas across different languages. On Sunday, the Hindi version of the film recorded an overall occupancy of 50.70%, while the Tamil and Telugu versions had occupancies of 41.59% and 21.92%, respectively. The strong performance in national multiplex chains, with a near 60% spike in business, further highlights the film's wide appeal. The film is also performing well overseas, having added another ₹13 crore to its total. This brings the global collection to ₹50 crore in just two days.
While "Sitaare Zameen Par" has become Aamir Khan's 9th highest-grossing film in terms of India net collections, it hasn't surpassed some of his previous hits like "Laal Singh Chaddha" (₹61.12 crore) and "Taare Zameen Par" (₹62.95 crore). However, the film has outperformed other recent Bollywood releases and is expected to maintain a strong performance in the coming days. For Genelia Deshmukh, "Sitaare Zameen Par" marks a career milestone as her highest-grossing film to date.
Prior to its release, "Sitaare Zameen Par" faced some challenges, including a disagreement with the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) over certain cuts. Aamir Khan refused to make the changes, believing that every scene was essential to the film's message. This led to a delay in the film's certification and release in India.
Despite the initial hurdles, "Sitaare Zameen Par" has received largely positive reviews, with viewers calling it a "perfect family entertainer" and praising Aamir Khan's performance. Some have even compared it favorably to "Taare Zameen Par," noting its touching story and powerful performances.
However, the film has also faced some backlash on social media, with some users calling for a boycott due to Aamir Khan's past statements and perceived silence on certain national issues. This has led to online trolling and negative commentary, which could potentially impact the film's long-term performance.
Overall, "Sitaare Zameen Par" has had a successful opening weekend, driven by positive word-of-mouth and its emotional, family-friendly storyline. While it remains to be seen how the film will perform in the coming weeks, its strong start indicates that it has the potential to be one of the more successful Bollywood releases of the year.