Ramayana Part One Opens With Record Advance Bookings of ₹143.5 Crore

Nitesh Tiwari’s Ramayana: Part One arrived in cinemas on November 5 with advance bookings already worth about ₹143.5 crore worldwide — the second-biggest advance ever recorded for a Bollywood film, behind only Dhurandhar: The Revenge, which took more than ₹250 crore in pre-sales. Ranbir Kapoor plays Ram, Sai Pallavi is Sita and Yash is Ravana in the two-part adaptation of the ancient epic, released in five Indian languages just days before Diwali on November 8.

The pre-sale split tells its own story. India accounted for about ₹71 crore and overseas markets for roughly ₹72.5 crore, or around USD 7.6 million. The Hindi version led at home with ₹57.5 crore (₹48 crore nett), while the dubbed versions added about ₹13.5 crore. The opening-day Hindi advance alone, ₹23.5 crore nett, ranks among the ten biggest of all time. Overseas, the United States led the way with USD 4.25 million in pre-sales — the second-best ever for a Bollywood film and double the figures managed by Jawan and Pathaan. Sacnilk figures cited by The Hollywood Reporter India put day-one advance gross at ₹50.08 crore, from 14.05 lakh tickets across 26,615 shows at an average price of ₹357.

Trade estimates now point to an opening of ₹70–75 crore net across all languages, possibly ₹80 crore if word of mouth is strong, with a worldwide opening above ₹150 crore. At ₹70 crore it would pass Animal’s ₹63.8 crore, currently Ranbir Kapoor’s biggest listed opening. But the timing cuts both ways: the film had to battle the pre-Diwali lull, traditionally a soft period for Hindi cinema, and trade watchers say the Monday after Diwali — when Hindi circuits return in full force — will be the number that really sets the tone for the run.

That is because the stakes here are unlike anything Indian cinema has attempted. The reported ₹4,000 crore figure covers both films and promotion, with Part One alone widely reported at roughly ₹835 crore — the most expensive Indian film ever made — and Part Two scheduled for Diwali 2027. Trade expert Ramesh Bala’s 2.5x rule on a ₹2,000 crore figure implies an indicative worldwide target of around ₹5,000 crore. A ₹150 crore opening would be just 3% of that. For scale, Dhurandhar, 2026’s biggest Hindi hit so far, grossed about ₹1,852 crore worldwide — only 37% of that marker — and gross takings overstate what producers keep, since taxes and cinema shares come off first, so digital rights and overseas markets will matter too.

What to watch next: Friday’s actual collections against the estimates, the Diwali weekend lift, and above all Monday’s numbers. Dates for China, Japan and some other Asian markets had not been set at last report, leaving a possible second wave in reserve. The wider season is also in play: Rajinikanth’s Jailer 2 has already passed ₹800 crore, while Hollywood’s Clayface topped a slow worldwide chart over Halloween weekend. Ramayana is the first true event film of the festive stretch, with Shah Rukh Khan’s King arriving on December 24 — and for the next few weeks, every daily figure will be read as a verdict on the biggest bet Bollywood has ever made. For more star stories, browse our Did You Know collection of famous people’s ages and bios.