Ramayana box office: Ranbir Kapoor's epic opens to Rs 1.27 billion worldwide, trails Adipurush
Ramayana stars Ranbir Kapoor, Sai Pallavi, Ravi Dubey among other stars
Nitesh Tiwari’s Ramayana arrived with the biggest budget in Indian cinema history, a Sony Pictures release on 70,000 screens worldwide and an extensive promotional campaign in the West. Its opening-day box office, while sizeable, did not match that scale. The film collected Rs 127.50 crore gross worldwide on Thursday, November 5, placing it behind both Jawan and Adipurush on the list of Indian openers.
Domestic box office
The Ranbir Kapoor and Yash starrer earned Rs 64.85 crore net (Rs 77.50 crore gross) in India on its first day. The Kannada version contributed Rs 7.50 crore net, roughly a third of what Yash’s last two films, KGF Chapter 2 and Toxic, earned on their opening days. The film will now rely on word of mouth through the extended four-day Diwali weekend.
Overseas performance
Sony Pictures released the film internationally on almost three times as many screens as any previous Indian title. Its overseas opening came in under $5.5 million, including $1.5 million from paid previews in North America. That would be a strong result for most Indian releases, but it is modest for a film positioned as a global release.
On the all-time list
Pushpa 2’s Rs 274-crore opening record was always expected to hold. Ramayana also stayed well short of Dhurandhar 2’s Bollywood record of Rs 202 crore. Its Rs 127.50-crore start ranks 16th among Indian films, behind Jawan (Rs 129 crore) and Adipurush (Rs 128 crore). Adipurush, which drew heavy criticism on release, also recorded higher footfalls on its first day.
Reviews
Critical response has been mixed. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 50% critics’ rating, with half of the reviews positive.
IGN found the film’s portrayal of Rama too dull to invest in. Film Information felt the screenplay was scattered at times, with some scenes rushed and others losing momentum, but praised Ranbir Kapoor’s performance and the film’s visual effects, calling them unlike anything previously seen in Hindi cinema. Early reactions from the Los Angeles premiere were similarly divided, with praise for the VFX and Yash’s Ravana and criticism of the storytelling, action and music.
Filmmaker SS Rajamouli offered strong praise after watching the film. On X, he said the film’s scale and visuals were spectacular on the big screen, called Ranbir’s Rama “serene yet magnificent” from the exile portions onwards, praised Yash’s menacing Ravana and Sai Pallavi’s graceful Sita, and said he loved the pre-climax and climax. He also congratulated Namit Malhotra, Nitesh Tiwari and the team.
About Ramayana
Ramayana is produced by Namit Malhotra’s Prime Focus Studios in collaboration with DNEG and Yash’s Monster Mind Creations, and is planned as a two-part film. It stars Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Rama, Sai Pallavi as Sita, Yash as Ravana, Ravie Dubey as Lakshman and Sunny Deol as Lord Hanuman. The second part is scheduled for Diwali 2028.
