Aamir Khan’s decision to hold back the streaming release of his latest film, Sitaare Zameen Par, appears to be paying off at the box office. Directed by RS Prasanna, the coming-of-age sports comedy has been performing strongly since its theatrical debut on June 20, and continues to draw crowds well into its first week.
Khan, who also produced the film, has deliberately chosen not to sell the streaming rights to any platform, stating he will only consider a digital release after the film concludes its theatrical run. “It wouldn’t come on a streaming platform at least until a year,” the actor confirmed.
The film collected Rs 8.5 crore on Tuesday, matching its Monday figures and indicating solid weekday hold. While weekend numbers were significantly higher — Rs 27.25 crore on Sunday and Rs 20.2 crore on Saturday, the dip was not as steep as expected. Monday’s earnings, in fact, were just a notch below the opening day’s Rs 10.7 crore, indicating steady audience interest.
According to trade analytics platform Sacnilk, Sitaare Zameen Par has now amassed Rs 75.15 crore at the domestic box office. Having crossed the Rs 50 crore threshold earlier this week, the film is now on track to enter the coveted Rs 100 crore club by the weekend.
However, the film will face challenge on June 27 from Maa, a mythological horror film directed by Vishal Furia. The Kajol-starrer is co-produced by Ajay Devgn and is positioned as a spiritual successor to Vikas Bahl’s 2023 supernatural hit Shaitaan, which collected Rs 147.97 crore during its run.
Khan’s film has already overtaken the total domestic earnings of Karan Sharma’s romantic comedy Bhool Chuk Maaf, which starred Rajkummar Rao and Wamiqa Gabbi. That film, produced by Dinesh Vijan of Maddock Films, took a very different route: opting for an earlier digital release, a strategy Aamir Khan has vocally opposed.
Calling the industry-standard eight-week gap between theatrical and streaming releases “too short,” Khan reflected on the performance of Laapataa Ladies, a 2023 production helmed by Kiran Rao. He emphasised that the early Netflix release hurt the film’s theatrical prospects. “It would’ve earned Rs 100 crore if the audience didn’t know it’s dropping on Netflix soon,” he said. The film, which featured mostly fresh faces, closed its domestic run with Rs 20 crore.