'Ramayana' eyes bumper opening; crosses ₹180cr globally in advance
What's the story
The much-anticipated mythological epic Ramayana: Rise of a Legend, directed by Nitesh Tiwari and produced by Namit Malhotra, was finally released on Thursday. The film reportedly raked in over ₹180 crore globally through advance bookings alone. This surge in ticket sales comes just days before its theatrical premiere, with both domestic and international markets playing a crucial role in this pre-release success.
Domestic success
'Ramayana' rakes in over ₹130 crore in India
According to trade tracker Sacnilk, Ramayana has reportedly crossed the ₹130 crore mark in India through advance bookings for seven show dates.
The overseas pre-sales have also contributed significantly, with an estimated $5.6 million (around ₹52 crore) in ticket sales.
This combination of domestic and international figures has pushed the worldwide advance booking past the ₹180 crore milestone.
Resolution impact
Film's advance sales were initially hampered by revenue-sharing deadlock
The film's advance bookings initially faced a setback due to a revenue-sharing disagreement between distributors and exhibitors, which led to the delayed opening of several theaters.
However, once this issue was resolved, more screens were released for the film, resulting in a significant increase in advance sales.
Now that Ramayana is finally in theaters, all eyes are on its ability to convert this pre-release momentum into strong opening-day collections and sustained footfalls over the extended weekend.
Language breakdown
Hindi version accounts for nearly 3-fourths of domestic sales
The Hindi version of Ramayana has emerged as the biggest contributor to domestic advance bookings, accounting for nearly three-fourths of the total sales.
The Kannada and Telugu versions have also seen a positive response, indicating the excitement generated by Yash's role as Ravana and the film's multi-language release strategy.
This trend is especially noteworthy given that films released just before Diwali are usually considered a risky proposition.
Box-office potential
'Ramayana' outperforms 'Pathaan,' 'Jawan'
The opening-day advance booking figures for Ramayana also provide a good indication of the scale of demand.
The film has already surpassed the pre-release ticket sales of several major Hindi releases, including Pathaan, Jawan, Animal, and Adipurush.
However, it still lags behind Dhurandhar 2: The Revenge, which recorded over ₹50 crore in opening-day advance bookings even before its paid previews were added to the mix.
Ramayana opening-day advance stands at ₹52cr gross, per Sacnilk.
Box-office prediction
Industry estimates place film's opening in ₹75-100 crore range
Industry estimates have placed the film's India opening in the ₹75-100 crore range, while more optimistic projections have suggested a worldwide opening of around ₹200 crore.
Trade analyst Ramesh Bala has projected a worldwide opening of approximately ₹175 crore, with the possibility of the film challenging the ₹200 crore mark if audience response is strong.
These projections would put Ramayana among the biggest opening-day performers for an Indian production.
Future prospects
Combined production budget of 'Ramayana' reportedly touches ₹4,000 crore
Ramayana is the first part of a two-part adaptation, with the second part likely to release during Diwali 2028.
The film's reported ₹4,000 crore combined production budget has also placed enormous commercial expectations on it.
Its performance over the first weekend and the subsequent Diwali holiday period will determine whether it can translate its enormous pre-release business into a historic theatrical run.