Ramayana’s ₹33.15-crore advance: is the buzz enough?

Ramayana: Rise of Legend is not just another Diwali release. It is a two-part, reported ₹4,000-crore gamble on a story every Indian household already knows. The first installment arrives on November 5, and the early booking window is now open. That makes the next four days a live market test: can familiarity, stardom and premium spectacle create the kind of urgency that fills ordinary 2D and 3D shows?

Advance bookings: solid, but not spectacular yet

As of 11:20 am on November 1, the film had grossed ₹22.67 crore in opening-day advance sales in India, including blocked seats, according to trade figures. Across its first two show dates, the number stood at ₹33.15 crore. It had sold about 5.04 lakh tickets for day one across 12,719 shows in 1,408 cinemas and 412 cities. Excluding blocked seats, opening-day collections were ₹18.85 crore from roughly 4.11 lakh tickets.

The regional spread is uneven. Maharashtra leads, followed by Karnataka and Delhi-NCR.

• Maharashtra: ₹4.39 crore
• Karnataka: ₹4.18 crore
• Delhi-NCR: ₹3.46 crore
• Hyderabad: ₹1.44 crore at 38% occupancy

What stands out is who is already paying. Premium formats — IMAX, 4DX and Dolby Cinema — generated ₹4.74 crore from only 360 shows, nearly 23% of the tracked advance gross. IMAX 3D alone contributed ₹3.46 crore from 157 shows, with tickets in these formats priced above ₹3,000. That suggests a committed, big-screen-first audience. The larger question is whether the regular 2D and 3D audience, which carries the real volume, will follow as more shows open.

The bar set by Pushpa 2 and Dhurandhar 2

For a film positioned as a cinematic event, comparisons are unavoidable. At the same four-day mark before its December 2024 release, Pushpa 2: The Rule had already crossed ₹30.88 crore in opening-day advance sales; it eventually raced past ₹63 crore before release. Dhurandhar 2 closed its opening-day pre-sales at ₹38.77 crore. Ramayana is currently behind those benchmarks, though trade analysts caution that genres, audiences and franchise advantages differ.

Why buzz is the wild card

The chatter outside ticket counters is mixed. Trade analyst Ramesh Bala told India Today Digital that the North is showing stronger traction, while the South is “slightly lower, but promising.” Independent voices are less convinced. Some film watchers feel the music has not created the pre-release pull expected from an AR Rahman and Hans Zimmer collaboration, and the shadow of Adipurush makes audiences wait for word of mouth.

The Los Angeles premiere on October 27 drew glowing early reactions, with Ranbir Kapoor and Yash being singled out. But a private screening is not the same as converting a family audience during the festive week. Girish Johar, a producer and trade analyst, argues the real test may arrive after Diwali on November 8, when households are free to invest in a three-hour film. “A strong pre-sales figure is desirable, but it is not the only measure of a film’s potential,” he said.

What to watch over the next week

The core question is whether Ramayana can turn cultural familiarity into theatrical urgency. It does not need to introduce India to Ram, Sita, Hanuman or Ravana. It needs to make audiences feel the story is worth re-experiencing together, on this scale, at the cinema. If regular formats pick up momentum and post-release word of mouth lands, the conversation can change quickly. If not, the film risks being remembered as grand rather than loved.

For fans, the practical move is simple: watch the opening-day occupancy beyond premium screens, watch whether families book closer to the show, and watch the post-Diwali trend. That will tell you more than the early headline number.

Source: India Today