Bollywood filmmakers are always on the prowl for those important dates to release their next movies. Why? Those longer holidays and the success of the earlier biggies make it a no-brainer. This year Ramayana is releasing right before Diwali and it has a star cast to bring the Ramayana story in a new avatar, with some interesting VFX and a trailer that got all of us excited, the film has already spent over ₹4,000 crore ($ 500 million). As for Nitesh Tiwari, the two-part epic is expected to recuperate those bucks by the end of this year itself at the box office.
Ramayana: Part 1 has walked right into that supposedly unfortunate week, and the early booking figures are making a fool out of that age-old superstition.
As on 4 November, trade tracker Sacnilk has India advance booking for the film at Rs 96.56 crore including blocked seats. Or Rs 77.31 crore without. which is from 25.65 lakh tickets. Day one alone, Thursday 5 November, grosses Rs 39.35 crore gross from 10.11 lakh tickets across 23,671 shows.
So quick note about those two numbers. The higher figure shows the blocked seats – seats theatres hold back for various reasons like reserved seats. The lower number does not. Either way though, it’s a decent start to the festival season. People were interested in watching this one week prior to the release!
Let’s now discuss the PVR INOX milestone, which is just as well. On 3 November, PVR INOX’s Kamal Gianchandani tweeted how Ramayana already went past the Rs 25 crore-plus in advance ticket sales, at PVR INOX alone, with two days left to go – and would be on course for the biggest pre-Diwali advance bookings in the more than 30-year history of PVR INOX. And that was just a single chain, among many in India. Amazing?
So, what’s with all of the buzz?!
Nitesh Tiwari’s Ramayana: Part 1 is the first installment of a two-part live-action epic based on Valmiki’s epic. Thanks to its star cast and a massive budget, this one has been garnering lots of attention. Filmed in IMAX. Made for all, uncut, run-time 195 mins. According to reports, Shri Rama is being played by Ranbir Kapoor, who has been on fire with his recent film Animal. Devi Sita is played by Sai Pallavi, while Ravana is played by Yash, the star of the KGF franchise. Shri Hanuman is Sunny Deol while Lakshmana is Ravi Dubey. The film is proudly produced by Namit Malhotra’s Prime Focus Studios with DNEG, Yash’s Monster Mind Creations, in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam with a fully shot English version for international release, with the second installment coming in 2028! The second part is set to release in 2028!
By the way, there’s also some legal action to safeguard this before it’s released. On 2 November, the Bombay High Court issued a flexible interim injunction in opposition to piracy, stopping the recording, uploading, hosting, and streaming after a suit by Godpower Media Private Limited. The next hearing is scheduled for 16 December.
Here’s the deal, advance booking is like one piece of the pie. It’s a pointer, upfront, to how many people have already committed, but by no means an accurate indicator of what the audience will make of it on release, or the effect of word of mouth during the Diwali weekend. A record pre-sale can still meet a mixed response, and a slow starter can still grow. That’s the part no number can reveal before release.
But as a starting point? A mythological epic released in the week everyone said was risky, with close to Rs 100 crore of bookings in hand before a single regular show has played. Well, a beginning has been made- as of now, the jinx has been broken.
Update as on 13 November: the jinx didn’t just break, the film has now crossed Rs 1,000 crore worldwide. Will it be able to cross 2000 Cr of Dangal, or come close to Dhurandhar: The Revenge and Baahubali 2 is yet to be seen.
The final advance booking closed stronger than that on 4 November morning – Rs 130.12 crore including blocked seats, or Rs 105.12 crore without them, from 36.37 lakh tickets. And Day 1 alone finished at Rs 64.85 crore India net, a pre-Diwali opening record, even if it came in below the Rs 70-75 crore the trade had forecast.
The movie started slow but with more reviews coming out each day the numbers are promising. Monday, Day 5, was Rs 107.50 crore – Rs 107.50 crore in a single day, the film’s first Rs 100 crore-plus day. Then there was Tuesday Rs 94.10 crore, and Wednesday Rs 70.65 crore, which put it well past Rs 500 crore all India; and Thursday, Day 8, finished at Rs 53.50 crore, the film’s India total stands at Rs 564.60 crore net – Rs 437 crore for Hindi, and Rs 127.60 crore for South dubbed.
With Rs 25 crore overseas on Day 8, the worldwide gross reached Rs 1,033.55 crore – past Rs 1,000 crore in just eight days, making Ramayana the 11th Indian film to get there. The review from the users has been varied – some praising the scale and Yash in the role of Ravana, while the pacing and VFX have been debated. But the box office hasn’t been caring much so far.
A new beginning? Yep, Part 2 is now confirmed for 2028, and cinematographer Pankaj Kumar said that about 60% of it is already shot. Rs 3.56 crore added today, after 10:03 AM on Day 9, Friday, taking the 9-day India total to Rs 568.16 crore. The coming weekend is going to be the real indicator.
Ramayana: Part 1 releases tomorrow in cinemas globally – watch it on opening day or wait for the critics to write about it?