Mumbai Bureau
Summary: Ranbir Kapoor’s Ramayana Part 1 is racing towards box-office history even before its release. By noon on 3 November, advance booking for the film across all languages in India had reached a gross figure of about Rs 75.56 crore. Meanwhile, the Bombay High Court has barred leaks and online piracy of the film, and a grand premiere was held in Mumbai on 3 November. The film releases in cinemas worldwide on 5 November, exactly three days before Diwali.
Record advance booking before release
With two days still to go for the release of Ramayana Part 1, its advance booking figures have already become the biggest talking point in the trade. As of noon on 3 November, the film had collected about Rs 75.56 crore gross from advance booking across all languages in India. This gross figure includes seats blocked by cinemas. Excluding blocked seats, the figure stands at about Rs 60.09 crore.
The ticket numbers are equally striking. About 19.13 lakh tickets have been booked so far, or about 15.22 lakh excluding blocked seats. More than 61,000 shows are available for the film across 711 cities in the country. That scale shows how big the makers have planned this release to be.
The previous day’s figures show how fast the momentum is building. According to trade trackers, by 2 November the film had collected Rs 58.74 crore in domestic advance booking, or Rs 55.63 crore without blocked seats. By then, more than 17.95 lakh tickets had been sold, 75 shows were already housefull and 13 of them were completely sold out. In other words, booking grew by roughly Rs 17 crore within a single day.
It is important to read these numbers correctly. Advance booking figures are based on trade tracker reports, and the gross figure that includes blocked seats is different from the cleaner figure without them. Neither should be mistaken for the final collection. The real picture will emerge only after the release.
Hindi version leads, Delhi-NCR on top
Language-wise, the Hindi version is far ahead. About Rs 62.41 crore of advance booking has come from Hindi alone, which is roughly 83 percent of the total. Kannada and Telugu versions follow next. This makes it clear that the Hindi belt will remain the film’s biggest market, though interest in the southern languages is also strong.
Among cities, Delhi-NCR leads with about Rs 10.92 crore in advance booking. Mumbai and Bengaluru are also showing a strong response. In the PVR INOX circuit alone, more than 4 lakh advance tickets have already been sold. Kamal Gianchandani, Chief Business Planning and Strategy at PVR INOX Limited, has described the response as truly exceptional.
The film is releasing in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam, and will also be available in premium formats such as IMAX. Advance booking has opened in all formats, giving audiences the chance to pick the format and show timing of their choice.
Bombay High Court interim order bars leaks and piracy
The second big story around the film has come from the Bombay High Court. According to reports that surfaced on 3 November, the court granted interim protection against online piracy of the film on 2 November. Godpower Media Private Limited, a company associated with the film, had approached the court with a petition. The company said that parts of the film, the trailer and some unreleased videos had already leaked online, which could harm the film’s business and the makers.
In the matter, Justice Madhav J. Jamdar passed an order against unknown persons who might upload, stream or share the film’s videos without permission. Now, no person can share the film’s scenes, trailer, songs, dialogues, music, visual effects and other promotional content on the internet without authorisation. The purpose of the order is to protect the film’s content from theft.
The order matters because leaked content before release can directly hurt a film’s opening. When audiences get to see key scenes in advance, their urge to visit the cinema drops. The court’s step will help the makers protect the earnings of their labour and will also put legal pressure on those indulging in piracy.
Grand premiere in Mumbai, media screening on 4 November
A special premiere of the film was held on 3 November at IMAX in Lower Parel, Mumbai. The full star cast and crew members attended, along with several big names from the film industry. The premiere was earlier planned at NMACC, but the venue was changed for some reasons. A special screening for the media has been scheduled for 4 November.
Earlier, the film’s world premiere had taken place in Los Angeles, where Ranbir Kapoor, Sai Pallavi and Yash walked the red carpet. Ever since the trailer was screened at Times Square in New York, curiosity about the film has been building worldwide. With the Mumbai premiere, that excitement has now reached its peak.
Star cast and scale of the film
Directed by Nitesh Tiwari, Ramayana has been mounted on a grand scale. Ranbir Kapoor plays Ram, Sai Pallavi plays Sita and Yash plays Ravan. Sunny Deol plays Hanuman and Ravi Dubey plays Lakshman. Arun Govil appears as King Dashrath, Lara Dutta as Kaikeyi and Indira Krishnan as Kaushalya. Kajol, Rakul Preet Singh, Vivek Oberoi, Anupam Kher and Kunal Kapoor are also part of the film.
The film has been produced by Namit Malhotra’s Prime Focus Studios. The visual effects have been prepared with DNEG, a studio that has won the Oscar eight times, along with Yash’s Monster Mind Creations. The music has been composed by A. R. Rahman and Hans Zimmer. According to trade reports, the film has been made on a budget of about Rs 4,000 crore, though this figure has not been officially announced.
Sony Pictures is handling the film’s global distribution outside India, while Dharma Productions will oversee distribution in the Hindi-speaking market. Overseas advance booking of about 3.9 million dollars has also been reported, showing the film’s reach around the world.
A Rs 100 crore opening expected — how solid is it?
Trade experts expect the film to open at around Rs 100 crore on its first day. The Hindi version alone is expected to collect Rs 50 to 65 crore on day one, with the other languages contributing Rs 45 to 50 crore. If this estimate holds, it would be among the biggest pre-Diwali openings ever for a Hindi film.
But caution is needed here too. Advance booking and a first-day figure are one thing; a long run is another. After the release, audience reaction and word of mouth will decide how far the film goes. Housefull shows and sold-out tickets signal demand, but the final verdict is delivered by audiences sitting in the cinema hall.
The Diwali-week gamble
The timing of the release is also a key part of the strategy. Diwali falls on 8 November, and the film releases on 5 November — exactly three days before the festival. The Diwali week is considered the biggest window for family audiences to visit cinemas. Since the story of Ramayana is close to the hearts of Indian audiences, the number of families watching the film together during the festival could be large.
Trade observers believe that such a big advance booking in the pre-Diwali window has not been seen for a Hindi film in more than two decades. The makers have presented the film not just as a movie but as a major cultural event. That is why the discussion around it is so intense even before release.
What next — the audience test
All eyes are now on 5 November. The advance booking numbers, the High Court’s protective order and the glitter of the Mumbai premiere have prepared strong ground for the film. But in cinema, the final decision is always the audience’s. The effect of the anti-piracy order will also show up in the first week’s collections.
Plans for the film’s second part are also being discussed, but reports differ on its release date, so it is too early to say anything definite on that front. For now, the first part itself is on trial before the audience. If the film lives up to expectations, it could open a new chapter for Indian cinema.
Disclaimer: This story has been prepared on the basis of available sources and verification. If any fact is found to be incorrect, a correction will be published.
