Nitesh Tiwari’s mythological epic Ramayana: Part I has crossed Rs 221 crore at the worldwide box office within two days of its theatrical release, making it the biggest Diwali opener in the history of Hindi cinema. The film, starring Ranbir Kapoor as Rama, Sai Pallavi as Sita and Yash as Ravana, released in theatres on November 5, three days before Diwali.
According to trade estimates, the film earned around Rs 64.85 crore net in India on its opening day, and added about Rs 48.05 crore net on its second day, taking its two-day India net total past Rs 112 crore. Overseas markets contributed around Rs 35 crore on the second day alone, pushing the worldwide gross to Rs 221.05 crore. Early trade trends had put the opening day even higher, at Rs 68 to 72 crore net across languages.
The opening has comfortably broken the long-standing Diwali record held by Thugs of Hindostan, which had collected Rs 50.75 crore on its first day eight years ago. It also pushed Salman Khan’s Prem Ratan Dhan Payo, with Rs 40.35 crore, out of the top five Diwali openers. Trade observers say the film’s advance booking alone, at Rs 29.1 crore gross with over 7.42 lakh tickets sold, had already made it the fifth-biggest Bollywood opener of 2026 before a single show began.
The film’s scale is part of its draw. Released in five languages, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam, and in formats including IMAX, Ramayana is among the most expensive Indian films ever made, with its reported production budget widely estimated at around Rs 4,000 crore. That figure has not been confirmed through audited disclosures, but the scale of the production is visible on screen, from its battle sequences to its visual effects.
The Diwali week has been strong across languages. Tamil film Scene, starring Suriya, earned an estimated Rs 19.15 crore net in India on its first day, while Nayanthara’s Mookuthi Amman 2 and the Malayalam crime thriller Disco also drew audiences. In the Telugu states, Venkatesh’s Aadarsha Kutumbam House No: 47 performed well alongside smaller releases.
Trade experts say the festive momentum could deliver the biggest Diwali week the industry has ever seen, with 2026 already running about 17 per cent ahead of last year at the box office by the end of September. Domestic collections are projected to rise 10 to 15 per cent year on year, putting the year on track for its biggest annual total on record, with annual business projected to approach Rs 15,000 crore.
For Ramayana, the target now is Rs 500 crore worldwide by the end of the Diwali weekend. The film has a largely open run in the coming days, with no major Hindi release competing for screens, and its makers are counting on family audiences through the festival. Whether it sustains its record-breaking pace beyond the opening weekend will decide how close it comes to recovering its enormous cost, but for now, the epic has delivered exactly the Diwali its makers had hoped for.
