Ranbir Kapoor and Yash's forthcoming epic Ramayana is set to take the box office by storm, having seen record advance bookings ahead of its theatrical release. The Nitesh Tiwari-dubbed film has raced past Prabhas-starrer Adipurush in its opening 24 hours of advance sales, hinting at a strong reception from moviegoers towards the ambitious mythological project.
Advance ticket sales started on Dussehra, October 20, which gave the film an uncharacteristically long 15-day running start well ahead of its November 5 release.
The early bookings have shown that the filmmakers' strategy of building hype well ahead of Diwali is working.
Ramayana beats Adipurush in pre-sales
According to the reported figures, the Ramayana has clocked more than 65,000 tickets on its opening day, registering a gross collection of approximately ₹3.13 crore. The number is around 123% higher than the Hindi advance booking performance of Adipurush in its first 24 hours post-release.
The Prabhas-led film's Hindi advance bookings opened up a day later, registering a total of about 36,000 Hindi tickets, collecting ₹1.40 crore during the same time.
The Telugu advance bookings, which opened a day later, also added substantially to the film's overall advance sales.
Ramayana has already crossed ₹6.25 crore in advance bookings, with regional-language versions contributing little so far. The Kannada, Telugu and Tamil markets are yet to open fully, leaving much potential for growth on their parts.
Yash's star power could help boost collections
The Hindi version of Ramayana is reportedly registering an occupancy rate of 15-20% across several major cities, with more than 900 screens available for bookings. The Kannada version has opened a few screens (under 100) but has already recorded morning-show occupancy rates of up to 72% at some centers.
Ramayana is expected to see wider regional bookings launch later this month, and Yash's star power could boost advance sales further.
While Adipurush had a strong pre-release response before receiving a severely mixed reception after its theatrical release, Ramayana will need to get positive audience reactions to support its advance box office performance.
All about Ranbir Kapoor and Yash's Ramayana
Produced by Namit Malhotra's Prime Focus Studios, along with DNEG and Yash's Monster Mind Creations, Ramayana is planned to be released in two-part format.
Ranbir Kapoor plays Lord Rama, Sai Pallavi is Sita, Yash plays Ravana, Ravi Dubey plays Lakshman and Sunny Deol essays Lord Hanuman.
The first part is scheduled to open worldwide on November 5, with the second part expected to be released on Diwali 2027. The films are expected to be released in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam, with a worldwide IMAX release also booked, according to reports.
For the time being, Ramayana has secured an early lead over Adipurush. Whether this leads to a historic run at the box office remains to be seen by moviegoers.