'Ramayana' debuts strong but fails to beat 'Dhurandhar 2'
What's the story
The box office clash between Ranbir Kapoor's Ramayana and Ranveer Singh's Dhurandhar 2 has sparked a debate over which film offered a better return on investment on its opening day. While Ramayana, an ambitious mythological spectacle, opened strongly, Dhurandhar 2 outperformed it in terms of theatrical performance relative to its budget. The latter is an action franchise that has established Singh as one of Bollywood's biggest box-office draws.
Box office comparison
'Dhurandhar 2' minted over ₹100 crore in India
According to Sacnilk, Dhurandhar 2: The Revenge, featuring Singh, raked in ₹102.55 crore India net on its opening day (March 19). The film's India gross was ₹123 crore and worldwide gross was around ₹226.6 crore.
In contrast, Kapoor's Ramayana opened on November 5 with a collection of ₹64.85 crore India net (₹77.5 crore India gross; ₹128.75 crore worldwide gross), per Sacnilk.
Regional performance
'Ramayana's collections from different Indian states
Unlike Dhurandhar 2, which was heavily dominated by its Hindi version, Ramayana showed a wider pan-India theatrical reach.
It collected ₹47.5 crore from the Hindi version, ₹7.25 crore from Kannada, ₹6 crore from Telugu, ₹2.6 crore from Tamil, and ₹1.5 crore from Malayalam.
Despite Ramayana's strong opening, Dhurandhar 2 earned around 58% more in India net on its first day compared to Ramayana's collections.
Financial disparity
Budget difference between 2 films is massive
The most significant difference between the two films lies in their budgets. The two-part Ramayana series has an estimated total investment of around ₹4,000 crore, covering production and promotional costs.
In contrast, the reported combined production cost of Dhurandhar and Dhurandhar 2 is about ₹255 crore, per Times Now.
This stark financial disparity highlights the different scales of these franchises.
ROI analysis
How did they fare in terms of ROI?
When comparing opening-day India net collections to reported combined budgets, Dhurandhar 2 recouped about 40.22% of its total franchise investment through this initial revenue.
In contrast, Ramayana only generated approximately 1.62% of its reported two-film investment on the same basis.
So, the spy drama turned out to be more profitable despite an 'A' certificate. Ramayana has been released with a family-friendly certificate.
Future prospects
Meanwhile, here's more on 'Ramayana'
Despite the budget difference, Ramayana's opening-day performance should not be overlooked.
Its worldwide opening-day gross of ₹128.75 crore also indicates strong international interest.
Moreover, the extended Diwali holiday period and audience reception could greatly affect its overall financial outcome in the coming days. After four days, it has crossed the ₹500 crore mark worldwide.