Ramayana Advance Booking Delays Over 60% Week-1 Share Demand

Advance booking for Ramayana was meant to be the big Dussehra story, but by 9:30 am on October 20, most cinema screens had not opened their ticket windows. The hold-up, trade sources say, is not about the film itself but about the money split behind it.

A higher ask at the box office

Sources told Bollywood Hungama that the distributors are pushing for a bigger slice of the box office: “The distributors of Ramayana are reportedly demanding a 60% revenue share in the first week, 50% in the second week and 40% in the third week.”

That is steeper than the usual structure for big films, which the same source pegs at 52.5%, 45% and 37.5% across the first three weeks. In simple terms, the distributor’s share is the portion of each ticket that flows to the party releasing the film, with the exhibitor keeping the rest. Those percentages are usually negotiated before bookings open, which is why a standoff at this stage can freeze the entire ticketing pipeline.

The gap is stark:

• Usual big-film split: 52.5% Week 1, 45% Week 2, 37.5% Week 3
• Demanded for Ramayana: 60% Week 1, 50% Week 2, 40% Week 3

What it means for your ticket

Until a commercial agreement is signed, the wide national advance window is unlikely to open. That changes plans for fans who wanted to lock in opening-weekend seats during Dussehra itself.

The scale of the release matters too. A revenue-sharing dispute at this point can influence how many shows exhibitors are willing to program, even though everyone involved wants a grand release for the Ranbir Kapoor, Yash and Sai Pallavi epic. By 9:30 am, INOX Korum Mall in Thane was the only Mumbai Metropolitan Region cinema reported to have opened bookings, while AMB Cinemas Kapali in Bengaluru had also begun.

What happens next

The release date remains November 5. If the two sides find a middle ground, advance bookings should open quickly and without much ceremony. Keep an eye on official ticketing apps and the film’s own pages rather than reading too much into informal updates.

For the trade, this is also a test of how much leverage a top-tier title can command before a big holiday release. Dussehra is a prime moment to start a conversation with audiences, but without a booking link, much of that momentum sits idle.

For now, treat the delay as a distribution-room negotiation, not a change in the film’s arrival date.

Source: bollywoodHungama.com