It had everything going for it - the biggest budget in Indian cinema history, the widest release, a Hollywood studio’s backing, and full-scale promotions in the West. Yet, Nitesh Tiwari and Namit Malhotra’s Ramayana came up short at the box office. The film had a strong start at the domestic box office, but its global box-office numbers did not justify the scale on which the film was mounted. Ramayana still minted over ₹100 crore worldwide on its opening day, but failed to enter the top 15 biggest openings for Indian films, lagging behind even Adipurush.
Ramayana worldwide box office opening
The Ranbir Kapoor and Yash-starrer opened to great reviews on Thursday, with initial audience reactions largely positive. Yet that did not drive footfall momentum very strongly. The film earned ₹64.85 crore net ( ₹77.50 crore gross) in India on its opening day. Perhaps the most disappointing aspect of this collection was that the Kannada version netted only ₹7.50 crore, one-third of what Yash’s last two films - KGF Chapter 2 and Toxic - managed on their first days. This means word of mouth now needs to drive the film’s growth over its extended four-day Diwali weekend.
The bigger trouble for Ramayana has been its overseas earnings. Sony Pictures distributed the film internationally, giving it a release on 70,000 screens worldwide, almost three times as many as any Indian release so far. Yet Ramayana’s day-one overseas haul has been under $5.5 million. Of this, $1.5 million has come from the paid previews in North America. These numbers would be considered impressive for any other Indian film, but Ramayana’s scale and ambition do not justify a sub-$10 million opening. Ramayana’s total worldwide gross on day one stands at ₹127.50 crore.
Ramayana lags behind on the Bollywood leaderboard
{{/usCountry}}The bigger trouble for Ramayana has been its overseas earnings. Sony Pictures distributed the film internationally, giving it a release on 70,000 screens worldwide, almost three times as many as any Indian release so far. Yet Ramayana’s day-one overseas haul has been under $5.5 million. Of this, $1.5 million has come from the paid previews in North America. These numbers would be considered impressive for any other Indian film, but Ramayana’s scale and ambition do not justify a sub-$10 million opening. Ramayana’s total worldwide gross on day one stands at ₹127.50 crore.
Ramayana lags behind on the Bollywood leaderboard
{{/usCountry}}Given that Ramayana is the most expensive Indian film ever made, it should have aimed for the biggest opening for any Indian film as well. Pushpa 2’s ₹274-crore record always looked safe, though. But Ramayana not even breaking the Bollywood record of Dhurandhar 2 ( ₹202 crore) should be concerning. In the end, its ₹127.50-crore start is only the 16th best in Indian cinema history, behind Jawan ( ₹129 crore) and even Adipurush ( ₹128 crore).
Ramayana's inability to beat Adipurush has been surprising, given that the latter, starring Prabhas, was a much-derided and criticised adaptation of the Ramayana. Yet its day one was bigger than the Ramayana in both gross earnings and footfalls.
All about Ramayana
Produced by Namit Malhotra’s Prime Focus Studios in collaboration with DNEG and Yash’s Monster Mind Creations, Ramayana is planned as a two-part film. The film stars Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Rama, Sai Pallavi as Sita, Yash as Ravana, Ravie Dubey as Lakshman, and Sunny Deol as Lord Hanuman. The first released worldwide on November 5, 2026, while the second part is set for Diwali 2028.
Get more updates from Bollywood, Taylor Swift, Hollywood, Music and Web Series along with Latest Entertainment News at Hindustan Times.
Get more updates from Bollywood, Taylor Swift, Hollywood, Music and Web Series along with Latest Entertainment News at Hindustan Times.