Ramayana arrives on November 5 as one of the most ambitious releases Indian cinema has attempted. But trade estimates suggest its first-day number, while big, will not match the scale of its release.
What advance booking shows
Advance sales in India were slow to begin because of a revenue-sharing disagreement between exhibitors and the film’s distributors. Most screens opened bookings only about five days before release.
By Wednesday morning, pre-sales for the opening weekend stood at ₹77 crore gross in India, with day one contributing about ₹33 crore. Overseas advance booking added $5.6 million, including $1.5 million for paid previews in North America. That puts the global advance at around ₹125 crore, with roughly ₹70 crore of it for the opening day.
The opening-day projection
Trade insiders expect the India opening day to translate into an ₹80 crore net total. The Hindi version is likely to lead with ₹55-60 crore net, while the Kannada version is not trending at record levels despite Yash’s presence.
Overseas, North American paid previews could bring in $1.6 million, with more than $5 million on day one. Taken together, the film is being projected to open at about ₹160 crore gross worldwide. Conservative estimates are closer to ₹150 crore; an optimistic push near ₹200 crore now looks tough.
How that compares with India’s biggest openers
The forecast puts Ramayana just outside the all-time top five. That is a notable gap for a film releasing across 70,000 screens worldwide.
- Pushpa 2: ₹274 crore
- RRR: ₹223 crore
- Baahubali 2: ₹214 crore
- Dhurandhar 2: ₹205 crore
- Kalki 2898 AD: ₹176 crore
Ramayana may edge past KGF Chapter 2’s ₹159 crore. It will also sail past Jawan’s ₹129 crore, Animal’s ₹116 crore and the 2024 adaptation Adipurush’s ₹127 crore.
Why this matters
The first Ramayana part is not just another event film. Produced by Prime Focus Studios with DNEG and Yash’s Monster Mind Creations, it is planned as a two-part epic. Ranbir Kapoor stars as Lord Rama, Sai Pallavi as Sita, Yash as Ravana, Ravie Dubey as Lakshman and Sunny Deol as Lord Hanuman.
The opening-day number will shape how the industry reads the risk behind the film’s huge budget and release footprint. If walk-ins and paid previews over-deliver, the weekend could still change the narrative. The second part is scheduled for Diwali 2028.
Source: Hindustan Times