Ranbir Kapoor, Yash’s ‘Ramayana’ Storms Past Rs 500 Cr Globally, Shatters All-Time Diwali Box Office Record
Ranbir Kapoor, Sai Pallavi and Yash's ‘Ramayana: Part 1’ crosses Rs 500 crore worldwide in just four days, breaking Tiger 3’s Diwali-day record.
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Nitesh Tiwari’s highly anticipated magnum opus ‘Ramayana: Part 1’ has silenced its initial skeptics, proving to be an unstoppable force at the global box office. After an opening that was deemed somewhat lukewarm given its unprecedented scale and massive budget, the epic drama – starring Ranbir Kapoor, Sai Pallavi, and Yash – found its footing over the extended holiday weekend. By the end of its first four days, the film firmly established itself as a blockbuster, breezing past the Rs 500 crore milestone worldwide and setting a new benchmark for Diwali day collections.
While the film’s massive 59,000-screen global rollout by Sony Pictures saw a slightly underperforming start overseas on Day 1, strong word-of-mouth catapulted its international numbers over the weekend. By Sunday, ‘Ramayana: Part 1’ had amassed a worldwide gross of Rs 507.20 crore.
Its performance in North America has been particularly impressive. Released across a record-breaking 1,433 screens in the region, the movie raked in USD 12.2 million over its opening weekend. This not only makes it the second-biggest opening for an Indian film in North America (trailing only ‘Dhurandhar 2’), but it also secured the fifth spot at the North American weekend box office, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Hollywood releases like ‘Godzilla Minus Zero’. Overall, the overseas collection stands at a stellar USD 23.7 million (Rs 222 crore) by Day 4.
Back home, ‘Ramayana’ is rewriting the record books. The film debuted on Thursday with an India net collection of Rs 64.85 crore – beating the opening days of ‘Pathaan’, ‘Animal’, and ‘Drishyam 2’. While it saw a customary working-day dip on Friday (Rs 48.05 crore), it roared back on Saturday, recording its highest single-day collection at Rs 69.80 crore.
However, the real test was Sunday – the day of Diwali. Traditionally, footfalls on the festival day remain low as families stay home for celebrations. Defying this trend, ‘Ramayana’ netted Rs 56.15 crore in India across 21,770 shows. In doing so, it comfortably smashed the all-time Diwali-day record previously held by Salman Khan’s ‘Tiger 3’, which earned Rs 44.50 crore in 2023. By the end of Day 4, the domestic net collection reached a formidable Rs 238.85 crore, with the India gross standing at Rs 285.20 crore.
In an interesting twist of box-office fate, ‘Ramayana’ has already surpassed the lifetime collection of ‘Adipurush’. While the 2023 Prabhas-starrer had a bigger opening (Rs 86.75 crore), it infamously crashed on its fourth day (earning less than Rs 20 crore) due to negative reviews, ending its run at Rs 393 crore globally. ‘Ramayana’, fuelled by positive reception, sailed past that lifetime number in just 96 hours.
The domestic earnings have been heavily driven by the Hindi belt. Despite Kannada superstar Yash’s magnetic presence as Ravana, the Kannada version opened to a sluggish Rs 7.50 crore. By Day 4, Hindi contributed the lion's share, while Telugu fared decently. On Sunday, occupancy rates varied wildly across regions: Chennai (89.8 per cent) and Bengaluru (86.5 per cent) recorded massive footfalls, whereas Delhi-NCR lagged at 20 per cent.
The momentum isn't slowing down. As of Monday (Day 5), early live estimates track an additional Rs 13.93 crore from nearly 6,000 shows, pushing the India net past the Rs 252 crore mark and the India gross beyond Rs 301 crore. Factoring in all five days, Hindi collections stand at Rs 183.69 crore, followed by Kannada at Rs 27.19 crore and Telugu at Rs 23.69 crore.
The industry is taking notice of the cinematic spectacle. Actor Riteish Deshmukh took to social media to hail it as a "bona fide epic blockbuster," praising Nitesh Tiwari's masterful direction, the groundbreaking VFX by Namit Malhotra's Prime Focus Studios, and the powerhouse performances by Ranbir Kapoor and Yash.
Co-produced by Namit Malhotra, Yash, and DNEG, the film boasts a massive ensemble cast including Ravie Dubey as Lakshman, Arun Govil as Dashrath, and Lara Dutta as Kaikeyi. With ‘Ramayana: Part 1’ already standing as the fifth highest-grossing film of 2026, the stage is perfectly set for its sequel, which has reportedly been moved to a Diwali 2028 release.
