Ramayana vs Adipurush: Why Ranbir Kapoor, Yash's combined star power failed to beat Prabhas' much-maligned adaptation at the box office

Despite a wider release, positive first reactions, and higher ticket prices, Ramayana failed to eclipse the day 1 haul of Adipurush.

A good benchmark for an Indian film, in terms of wide release, is 10,000 screens globally. Most tentpole Indian films - the RRRs and Jawans of the industry - secure 6000-7000 screens in India and 3000+ overseas. That is what a wide international release means. That is why Ramayana was considered historic. Sony Pictures gave it 50,000 screens outside India, 15 times what an Indian film normally gets. Even in India, the film managed 8000-9000 screens, higher than any film in the multiplex era. On top of that, it had positive reactions and reviews in its favour.

Ramayana was unable to match Adipurush's day 1 box office collection.

Yet, it fell short of that expected historic start. In fact, it fell short of even Adipurush, the much-derided and maligned adaptation of the epic from three years ago. How did that happen? The answer lies in a combination of misfired marketing for Ramayana and the tsunami that is Telugu fandom in the case of Adipurush.

Ramayana vs Adipurush scale

When it hit the screens in June 2023, Adipurush was the most expensive Indian film ever made. Mounted on a budget of ₹550 crore, it starred Prabhas as Lord Rama, Kriti Sanon as Sita, and Saif Ali Khan as Ravana. It secured around 6500 screens in India on release day and 3000 screens overseas. This was one of the widest releases for an Indian film, bigger than Baahubali 2 and almost at par with RRR and Pathaan.

Ramayana opened to ₹64.85 crore net collection in India, largely on the back of a ₹47-crore day for its Hindi version. It sold around 25 lakh tickets across the country and was propped up in terms of collections by premium formats such as IMAX. Three years ago, Adipurush opened to ₹86.75 crore net on its opening day. The film had earned ₹37 crore net in Hindi and a staggering ₹48 crore net in Telugu. Its total ticket sales on day 1 were 55 lakh, much higher than Ramayana's. The chief reason for this was Prabhas’ popularity. The star’s fandom led to a record-breaking opening for the film in the Telugu states and parts of North India, despite negative reviews. This meant that Ramayana could not surpass these numbers despite a much higher average ticket price and a wider release.

Day 1 box office comparison	Ramayana	Adipurush
Budget	₹1600 crore	₹550 crore
Screens	59,000	10,000
Domestic net	₹64.85 crore	₹86.75 crore
Footfalls	25 lakh	55 lakh
Overseas	$5.3 million	$3 million
Worldwide	₹127 crore	₹128 crore

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Ramayana’s overseas conundrum

With 50,000 screens overseas, Ramayana was aiming for a global-level release, the kind major Hollywood blockbusters get worldwide. Yet, its day 1 collections do not reflect that ambition. The film opened with an international gross of around $5.3 million, lower than Dhurandhar 2's earlier this year. And that film was banned in the Gulf. Adipurush, on the other hand, earned $3 million on its first day overseas, but in just 6% of the screen count. This shows that the wide release was unable to generate the desired buzz for Ramayana. Its earnings numbers remained at a level comparable to those of any big Indian film.

The road ahead for Ramayana

If Ramayana has any hope of recouping its costs, the overseas business needs to pick up via word of mouth over the remainder of the weekend. The domestic business may see a boost during and after Diwali given the highly positive first reactions. In the long run, Ramayana will certainly surpass what Adipurush achieved, possibly in its opening weekend, but its day 1 collections betray its ambitions.

Produced by Namit Malhotra’s Prime Focus Studios in collaboration with DNEG and Yash’s Monster Mind Creations, Ramayana is directed by Nitesh Tiwari. The film stars Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Rama, Sai Pallavi as Sita, Yash as Ravana, and Ravie Dubey as Lakshman. A sequel is scheduled for release in 2028.