Mumbai: The first part of Nitesh Tiwari’s two-film Ramayana has collected Rs 105 crore in worldwide advance bookings, two days before its scheduled release on November 5, according to figures reported by Mid-day. The number places the Ranbir Kapoor and Yash film among the very few Indian productions that have crossed the Rs 100-crore mark before the first public show.
A slow start, then a screen surge
Advance booking opened on Dussehra, October 20, giving the film a 15-day window. The first day was strong, but the pace softened over the next week and a half. One reason was supply, not interest: for the first ten days, mainly Hindi shows were available, and many single screens and smaller cinemas had not opened their inventory.
Trade reports indicate that Dharma Productions was negotiating a higher revenue share with exhibitors during that period. Once those conversations made progress last week, the market responded quickly. By Tuesday morning, more than 5,000 screens were live for the film; over 1,500 screens were added in the preceding 24 hours alone.
Where the money is coming from
By November 3 morning, India had contributed Rs 58 crore in gross pre-sales, including Rs 27 crore from the opening day itself. The film has sold almost 15 lakh tickets in India before release. Overseas, the advance total stood at USD 5 million, with more than USD 1.5 million coming from paid previews in the United States. A 27 per cent jump in collections followed the film’s Los Angeles world premiere.
- Worldwide advance gross: Rs 105 crore
- India pre-sales: Rs 58 crore
- India tickets sold: almost 15 lakh
- Overseas advance bookings: USD 5 million
- Screens live by Tuesday: over 5,000
A rare pre-release club
Crossing Rs 100 crore in advance sales remains unusual for Indian cinema. The list of past examples is short and title-specific: Baahubali 2, RRR, Pushpa 2 and Dhurandhar 2. For a Hindi-led epic, the milestone gives exhibitors a stronger reason to add shows and gives the opening-weekend projection a higher floor.
Ramayana is produced by Namit Malhotra’s Prime Focus Studios with DNEG and Yash’s Monster Mind Creations. Alongside Kapoor as Lord Rama and Yash as Ravana, the cast includes Sai Pallavi as Sita, Ravie Dubey as Lakshman and Sunny Deol as Lord Hanuman. The second part, earlier expected for Diwali 2027, is now being reported as likely to arrive in 2028.
For release strategists, the pattern is instructive. An early advance window can bank opening-day demand even when inventory is not yet complete; the last 24 hours showed that screen expansion can produce an outsized surge once exhibitor terms are settled. The opening weekend will now test whether the pre-sales convert into sustained walk-ins across the expanded screen count.
Source: Mid-day
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