MUMBAI: The box office success of Saiyaara has been a topic of wide discussion over the past month. The film has performed exceptionally well, crossing Rs 300 Cr at the domestic box office, and becoming the second-highest grosser of 2025 in India, behind Chhaava, at the time of writing this report. A popular theory attributes this success to the influence of Gen Z (those born between 1997 and 2012, currently aged 13-28). It’s an easy conclusion to draw, given the film’s genre and debutant cast. But is it really true? Can one audience segment alone propel a film with no franchise or star value to cross the Rs 300 Cr mark? This analysis explores that question.

According to Ormax Media analysis, the remarkable box office success of Saiyaara is less about a single generation’s love affair with a fresh romance and more about how different cohorts engage with emotion on screen. On paper, the culprit seemed obvious. Gen Z—those aged 13 to 28—looked tailor-made for the film’s youthful leads, moody soundtrack, and breakneck visuals. Social chatter, sneaker fashion and music streams all suggested the movie was “their” moment. But Ormax Media’s data complicates the narrative.

The firm’s proprietary OPR (Ormax Power Rating), a 0–100 index that tracks likeability and advocacy, is a trusted predictor of word-of-mouth and sustained collections. A score above 60 typically signals robust engagement, translating into strong box office legs beyond opening weekend. Over four weeks of tracking, Saiyaara notched a sturdy OPR, with Gen Z audiences scoring it at 68 and those aged 29+ close behind at 63. A respectable gap, but not wide enough to explain the runaway commercial phenomenon.

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The real story, says Ormax Media, emerges when the data is split by gender. Women across generations responded almost identically strongly, suggesting that themes of love, empathy and sacrifice cut across age barriers. Among men, however, the divergence was stark. Gen Z men mirrored women’s enthusiasm, while older men slipped sharply, delivering an OPR of just 56.

Why does this gap matter? For Ormax analysts, it reflects shifting life priorities. Gen Z men—many still students, young professionals or in early relationships—saw in Krish Kapoor, the protagonist, an avatar of their own anxieties and aspirations. At 22, Krish is all swagger and style: racing bikes across Mumbai flyovers, flaunting Air Jordans, and smoking defiantly. But when his girlfriend Vaani is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, he doesn’t flee. Instead, he pauses his rising music career to stay by her side. The arc resonated with younger men who are wrestling with questions of identity, love and loyalty in their own lives.

“Cinema becomes a tool of self-discovery for this cohort,” Ormax Media notes. “It validates emotions that are difficult to articulate, reassuring them that ‘forever’ love is not entirely a myth.”

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Older men, by contrast, appear to want films to serve as escape hatches from the daily grind of careers, mortgages, and parenting. For them, Saiyaara may be admirable cinema, but not essential viewing. As Ormax points out, this explains the 10-point OPR gap between the two male groups.

For women, the generational divide all but vanishes. Ormax’s data highlights how relationship-driven storytelling continues to resonate across age brackets, aligned with academic research suggesting women are both socialised, and to some extent biologically primed, to prioritise empathy and relational bonds in narrative consumption. Saiyaara capitalised on this, shaping Krish’s trajectory not as a melodramatic sacrifice but as a nuanced portrait of resilience and commitment.

The outcome: a Rs 300 cr-plus blockbuster that defied industry cynicism around non-franchise, debutant-led films. Saiyaara’s triumph is not solely Gen Z’s doing. Rather, it is the uncharacteristic enthusiasm of young men—an audience often elusive for romantic dramas—that Ormax Media credits with tipping the film from respectable hit to cultural juggernaut.

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