Ramayana: Rise of a Legend has become the first Indian film to sit at the top of the UK and Ireland box office, opening with £2.1 million (about $2.8 million) including preview screenings. The Nitesh Tiwari-directed mythological film’s debut marks a new checkpoint in a 28-year relationship between Indian cinema and mainstream British-Irish exhibition.
From community halls to the official chart
Before August 1998, most Hindi releases played in single-screen halls and community venues in Southall, Wembley, Leicester and Birmingham. Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! and Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge each earned more than £1 million across extended runs, but those successes sat outside the official reporting system.
Dil Se.. changed the framing. Released in August 1998, the Mani Ratnam thriller entered the official UK-Ireland top ten at number eight, powered by Shah Rukh Khan’s rising international profile and A.R. Rahman’s soundtrack. It showed that a Hindi film could reach mainstream British cinemas even with a limited theatrical footprint.
Karan Johar’s Kuch Kuch Hota Hai followed quickly, debuting in the top ten and finishing with £1.7 million. In 2001, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham… opened at number three from only 41 theatres and ended at almost £2.5 million.
Milestones that raised the ceiling
- 1998: Dil Se.. becomes the first Indian film in the official top ten, at No. 8.
- 2001: Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham… opens at No. 3 from 41 screens.
- 2013: Dhoom 3 crosses £2.7 million.
- 2022: RRR debuts at No. 2 with £650,204.
- 2023: Pathaan reaches £4.38 million in total, and Jawan opens at No. 2.
- 2026: Ramayana: Rise of a Legend opens at No. 1 with £2.1 million.
The top tier of Indian releases has been converging on the upper reaches of the chart for some time. My Name Is Khan opened with £936,000 from 91 screens in 2010 and finished with £2.6 million. Dhoom 3 passed £2.7 million in 2013. More recently, Pathaan totalled £4.38 million in 2023, and Jawan matched its number-two debut the same year.
South Indian films followed a parallel track. Baahubali 2 cleared £1 million within ten days in April 2017 but was held back by fragmented reporting across language versions. RRR’s number-two debut in March 2022 and Ponniyin Selvan: I’s top-five run helped pan-Indian titles become a regular multiplex presence. In March 2024, Aadujeevitham – The Goat Life set a Malayalam record with a number-five opening and about £717,000, and Kalki 2898 AD opened at number three with £1.5 million that summer.
That arc also included Tamil cinema’s Jailer 2 and the record-setting Dhurandhar: The Revenge, making the territory’s Indian box office less of a single-industry story.
Why the No. 1 matters
The UK and Ireland have long been a barometer for how Indian films travel beyond their home market. A No. 1 debut is more than a fan milestone; it tells exhibitors that a big Indian title can occupy the same opening-weekend slot as a Hollywood release. That changes the screen allocation and marketing conversations before a film opens, not after.
The next test is whether the film holds beyond its preview-driven first weekend, and whether future pan-Indian releases can repeat the top slot. The previous ceiling was the number-two position, and several recent hits had reached it. Ramayana has now moved the boundary.
For Hindi cinema, the record also closes a loop that began with Dil Se..’s top-ten entry. The infrastructure around Indian releases has changed from informal, community-led exhibition to chart-tracked wide release, and the result is visible in the official numbers.
Source: IndiaNewsNetwork
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