Ramayana Releases Today: Rs 160 Crore Opening Expected
Nitesh Tiwari’s Ramayana: Part One releases in cinemas worldwide today, Thursday, November 5, 2026, after one of the biggest advance booking runs Indian cinema has ever seen. Starring Ranbir Kapoor as Rama, Sai Pallavi as Sita and Yash as Ravana, the film is projected to open at around Rs 160 crore worldwide on its first day, according to trade estimates reported by The Indian Express.
Advance booking: the numbers
A day before release, Ramayana had sold 25.73 lakh tickets across 83,172 shows in India, collecting Rs 96.75 crore in gross advance bookings including blocked seats, or Rs 77.44 crore without blocked seats, according to Sacnilk figures reported on November 4. For day one alone, more than 10 lakh tickets had been sold, worth Rs 41.46 crore gross with blocked seats and Rs 35.29 crore without. Worldwide, advance bookings for the extended opening weekend had already crossed Rs 100 crore in India plus more than Rs 40 crore overseas, taking the global advance total past Rs 140 crore, with some reports putting it above Rs 150 crore gross.
Early reactions: praise, with caveats
The film held its India premiere in Mumbai on Tuesday, November 3, after a world premiere at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles last week. Early reactions from the Mumbai screening have been largely encouraging. Content creator Ashish Chanchlani, who attended the screening, called it a “blockbuster of truly epic proportions” and praised Tiwari’s direction, the action sequences and the performances of Ranbir Kapoor, Sai Pallavi, Yash and Ravi Dubey, who plays Lakshman. He also noted minor technical shortcomings, including some de-ageing shots in night sequences that felt slightly off, but said the tight editing meant one barely notices them. International reviews so far have been mixed to positive, and a unanimous critical verdict has not yet emerged.
The scale of the project
Ramayana: Part One is the first of a two-part adaptation of the Indian epic, with a reported total budget of Rs 4,000 crore for both parts. The second part is currently slated for Diwali 2028, according to some reports, though other reports have mentioned Diwali 2027, so the date should be treated as unconfirmed. The film is directed by Nitesh Tiwari and produced by Namit Malhotra’s Prime Focus Studios with DNEG handling visual effects. The cast also includes Sunny Deol as Hanuman, according to pre-release reporting.
What to watch on day one
Trade expectations put the film in line for one of the biggest Indian openings ever, with some estimates pointing to around Rs 100 crore from India alone on day one. In the United States, more than 51,000 tickets had already been sold for the opening weekend, close to the record set by Dhurandhar 2 earlier this year. Whether the film meets the Rs 160 crore worldwide opening projection will depend on how the strong advance booking converts into walk-in audiences through Thursday and the extended weekend.
Why it matters
Ramayana is being watched as a test of whether a mythological epic made at this scale can travel beyond India. Its advance booking is already the biggest pre-Diwali advance collection on record, and its reception in overseas markets, where advance sales have crossed Rs 40 crore, will shape expectations for Part Two.
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Sources: The Indian Express, Sacnilk, Free Press Journal, Bollywood Shaadis, November 4, 2026.