Aamir Khan‘s highly anticipated return to the silver screen with ‘Sitaare Zameen Par’ appears to be off to a measured start, with its advance booking figures slowly crawling past the ₹1 crore mark. While this is a significant milestone, the film is currently trailing behind other major Bollywood releases of 2025, including Akshay Kumar’s ‘Kesari Chapter 2’, Sunny Deol’s ‘Jaat’, and Salman Khan’s ‘Sikandar’.
The sports comedy-drama, which is being touted as a spiritual successor to Khan’s 2007 classic ‘Taare Zameen Par’, opened its advance bookings relatively late, just a couple of days before its scheduled release on June 20, 2025. This delay, reportedly due to certification issues, may have contributed to the slower uptake in ticket sales. As of Thursday morning, ‘Sitaare Zameen Par’ had crossed ₹1 crore in advance booking gross for its opening day, primarily driven by the Hindi version.
Comparatively, the initial advance booking numbers for ‘Sitaare Zameen Par’ are a cause for discussion within the industry. Akshay Kumar’s ‘Kesari Chapter 2’ and Sunny Deol’s ‘Jaat’ had already garnered higher advance collections, with ‘Jaat’ reportedly bringing in around ₹2.37 crore and ‘Kesari Chapter 2’ at ₹1.84 crore. Even more notably, Salman Khan’s ‘Sikandar’ and Akshay Kumar’s ‘Housefull 5’ saw significantly stronger pre-sales, reaching ₹10.09 crore and ₹8.02 crore respectively. This places ‘Sitaare Zameen Par’ behind some of the year’s big-ticket films, including those that ultimately faced mixed box office results.
Industry analysts suggest that Aamir Khan’s films, unlike some other superstar vehicles, often build momentum based on strong word-of-mouth rather than massive opening day advance bookings. With his last two ventures, ‘Thugs of Hindostan’ (2018) and ‘Laal Singh Chaddha’ (2022), underperforming at the box office, ‘Sitaare Zameen Par’ carries the weight of a potential comeback. Trade expert Ramesh Bala anticipates a promising start for the film, projecting an opening weekend collection of ₹40-50 crore, while Taran Adarsh offers a more conservative estimate of around ₹30 crore, emphasizing the reliance on positive reviews and audience reception.
‘Sitaare Zameen Par’, directed by R.S. Prasanna, stars Aamir Khan as a basketball coach assigned to train a team of players with intellectual disabilities as part of his community service. The film also features Genelia Deshmukh and introduces ten debutant actors with special needs, aiming to deliver a heartwarming and socially relevant narrative. Aamir Khan has notably taken a stance against rushing the film to OTT platforms, reportedly turning down a substantial offer for its digital rights, in a bid to encourage theatrical footfall.
The success of ‘Sitaare Zameen Par’ will largely hinge on how well its emotional and humorous narrative resonates with audiences in its initial days. Despite the lower-than-expected advance bookings, the film’s unique subject matter and Aamir Khan’s reputation for delivering impactful cinema could still pave the way for a strong run at the box office, provided positive word-of-mouth spreads swiftly after its release. All eyes will now be on the opening weekend collections to gauge the true potential of this much-anticipated Aamir Khan production.