Ramayana advance bookings cross Rs 10 crore, Hindi leads

Advance bookings for Nitesh Tiwari’s Ramayana: Rise of a Legend are gathering pace. The epic has crossed the Rs 10 crore mark in gross advance sales across India, with the Hindi version doing most of the early heavy lifting.

The early numbers

As of 3 pm IST on October 24, the film had collected Rs 10.15 crore in gross advance sales across all languages, according to trade website Sacnilk. Confirmed consumer bookings, excluding seats blocked by exhibitors, stood at Rs 7.98 crore.

• Total advance gross: Rs 10.15 crore
• Confirmed bookings: Rs 7.98 crore
• Tickets sold: 1.81 lakh across 4,352 tracked shows in 134 cities
• Hindi share: Rs 8.91 crore, or 88%
• Top states: Maharashtra, Delhi and Karnataka
• Milestone: First housefull show of the advance window

The Kannada version is the strongest southern performer at Rs 96.57 lakh, followed by Telugu at Rs 28.11 lakh. Between 6 am and 3 pm, advance sales added Rs 35.90 lakh.

Where the demand is coming from

Maharashtra leads state-wise sales with Rs 2.31 crore, ahead of Delhi at Rs 2.13 crore and Karnataka at Rs 1.45 crore. Among cities, NCR is the biggest market, with Mumbai next and Bengaluru recording the sharpest single-day jump at 173 per cent.

Premium formats are doing the early work. Bookings crossed 50,000 tickets across PVR INOX and Cinepolis, with IMAX and 4DX screens leading while standard multiplex shows are still filling out.

Why the final week matters

The current show count is still below a major opener’s scale. By comparison, Dhurandhar: The Revenge sold more than 9.50 lakh opening-day advance tickets across over 17,000 shows before release. Ramayana’s schedule should expand around October 29, when exhibitors complete lineups after revenue-sharing delays.

Trade benchmarks cited in the report place opening-day sales of 3.5 lakh tickets across the three leading chains as a strong pre-Diwali start, with five lakh as a higher target. A Rs 70 crore India nett opening is being discussed as an ambitious figure, while Rs 60 crore is seen as a possible foundation before the festive period begins on November 9. Paid previews are set for November 4, ahead of the November 5 release.

The film to watch

This is the first instalment of a planned two-part adaptation of Valmiki’s text. Ranbir Kapoor stars as Lord Rama, Sai Pallavi as Goddess Sita, Ravie Dubey as Lakshman, Yash as Ravana and Sunny Deol as Lord Hanuman. It is co-produced by Namit Malhotra’s Prime Focus Studios with DNEG and Yash’s Monster Mind Creations.

For fans, the practical move is simple: if you want IMAX or 4DX, book early; if you are flexible on screen choice, the final schedule may offer better options once the full allotment opens.

Source: India Today