Barely a week after its release in theatres, Nitesh Tiwari’s Ramayana has entered the 1000-crore club. On Thursday, the Ranbir Kapoor and Yash-starrer crossed ₹ 1000 crore in worldwide gross on the back of a strong opening weekend, followed by all-time record-setting weekdays. Ramayana is only the third Indian film to reach the ₹ 1000-crore mark in its opening weekend and also the third fastest to the milestone.
Ramayana opened in theatres on November 5, three days before Diwali. It had a good, but not great, start, earning ₹ 128 crore worldwide on its opening day. Regardless, Ramayana managed ₹ 507 crore in its four-day opening weekend. The real mayhem began on Monday as the film capitalised on the Govardhan Puja and Bhai Dooj breaks to rack up back-to-back ₹ 150-crore days. Ramayana then continued the trend with an exceptionally strong Wednesday, ending with ₹ 935 crore gross in seven days. The film then added ₹ 29 crore in advance bookings for Thursday in India and about $1.5 million overseas, bringing the haul to around ₹ 980 crore as Thursday began. Ramayana had crossed the ₹ 1000 crore mark on the back of Thursday spot bookings by late afternoon, entering the club in its eighth day in theatres, according to trade estimates. Baahubali The Conclusion was the first Indian film to reach the ₹ 1000 crore mark in May 2017, just over a week after its release. Since then, eight other Indian films have grossed over ₹ 1000 crore worldwide, with Ramayana becoming the 11th overall. The first part is running in theatres, while the second part is set for a Diwali 2028 release.
Positive reviews and early reactions led to positive word of mouth, helping the film take off overseas. At home, however, the film was curtailed by the Diwali festivities. The film finishes its extended eight-day opening week. Dangal joined it later that month, propelled by its belated release in China. However, Ramayana is the third-fastest to reach the mark, doing so in eight days. Produced by Namit Malhotra’s Prime Focus Studios in collaboration with DNEG and Yash’s Monster Mind Creations, Ramayana is the first of a two-part film. Directed by Nitesh Tiwari, the film stars Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Rama, Sai Pallavi as Sita, Yash as Ravana, and Ravie Dubey as Lakshman.
