Aamir Khan and Genelia D’Souza’s highly anticipated film, ‘Sitaare Zameen Par’, premiered in theaters on June 20, 2025, receiving immediate positive reviews from both critics and audiences. The film quickly made a notable impact at the box office, with early estimates from industry tracker Sacnilk reporting an impressive opening day collection of Rs. 11.7 crore across all languages.

This debut collection saw ‘Sitaare Zameen Par’ outperform its spiritual predecessor, ‘Taare Zameen Par’, which had an opening day collection of Rs 2.62 crore back in 2017. The majority of the earnings for ‘Sitaare Zameen Par’ stemmed from its Hindi version, which garnered Rs. 11.50 crore, while Tamil and Telugu collections were Rs. 0.05 crore and Rs. 0.15 crore, respectively. The film’s strong performance also impacted other reigning films, notably causing a significant dip in the business of ‘Housefull 5’, which had been dominating the box office. The Akshay Kumar, Riteish Deshmukh, and Abhishek Bachchan starrer saw its Friday collection drop to Rs. 1.85 crore following the release of ‘Sitaare Zameen Par’, as it gradually inches towards the Rs 200 crore mark in its third week.

The narrative of ‘Sitaare Zameen Par’ centers on Gulshan Arora, portrayed by Aamir Khan, a brash basketball coach. After being suspended for assaulting his head coach and facing a jail sentence for drunk driving, Gulshan is instead assigned community service. His task is to train a team of players with intellectual disabilities for a national basketball tournament. This journey, initially fraught with challenges, evolves into a path of profound personal growth and invaluable life lessons. The film also introduces ten new faces alongside Aamir and Genelia, all of whom have received commendation for their stellar performances. The Times of India, in its 3.5-star review, praised the movie, stating, "If Taare Zameen Par had the soul, Sitaare Zameen Par brings the spirit. It’s a heartwarming family watch that blends comedy, compassion, and charm, and is definitely worth a trip to the theatre."

Comparing its opening day to Aamir Khan’s previous releases, ‘Sitaare Zameen Par’s Rs 11.70 crore debut matched that of ‘Laal Singh Chaddha’. While this is a promising start, especially given the mixed reception of ‘Chaddha’, the film narrowly missed surpassing the opening day collection of his much-loved classic ‘3 Idiots’, which earned Rs 12.99 crore on its first day in 2009. Despite enjoying positive pre-release buzz and a wider screen count compared to ‘Laal Singh Chaddha’ (which faced controversies upon release), falling behind a 2009 film like ‘3 Idiots’ is perceived by some as a missed opportunity. Nevertheless, industry insiders attribute the film’s strong opening to Aamir Khan’s distinctive emotional storytelling brand and the nostalgia associated with his socially sensitive dramas. Among Aamir Khan’s top opening day earners, ‘Sitaare Zameen Par’ did not crack the top five, with films like ‘Thugs of Hindostan’ (Rs 52.25 crore), ‘Dhoom 3’ (Rs 36.22 crore), ‘Dangal’ (Rs 29.78 crore), ‘PK’ (Rs 26.63 crore), and ‘Talaash’ (Rs 13.55 crore) leading the list. However, its performance over the opening weekend holds significant promise for its long-term box office success, especially if positive word-of-mouth continues to spread.

Within the broader context of Bollywood’s 2025 box office, which has been vibrant with several high-profile releases, ‘Sitaare Zameen Par’ secured the 6th position among the top Day 1 openers for Hindi films. Vicky Kaushal’s period action drama ‘Chaava’ led the charge with a career-best Rs 31 crore, followed by Salman Khan’s ‘Sikandar’ at Rs 26 crore. The comedy franchise ‘Housefull 5’ claimed the third spot with Rs 24 crore, while Ajay Devgn’s ‘Raid 2’ took the fourth position at Rs 19.25 crore. Akshay Kumar’s ‘Sky Force’ landed at number five with Rs 12.25 crore, just marginally ahead of ‘Sitaare Zameen Par’. Despite not being the highest opener of the year, ‘Sitaare Zameen Par’ is considered a decent start for an emotional family drama in a market currently dominated by action-packed extravaganzas and franchise comedies, with its overall box office trajectory keenly anticipated.