Ramayana's Record-Breaking Box Office Debut Lands Bollywood Epic On All-Time Chart

Ramayana: Rise of a Legend is having a truly legendary box office debut.

The new Bollywood movie, which was directed and co-written by Nitesh Tiwari, is the first installment of a two-part adaptation of the Hindu epic poem by Valmiki. 2026’s Ramayana: Rise of a Legend stars Ranbir Kapoor as the Hindu deity Rama opposite Kannada cinema superstar Yash, who is making his Bollywood debut as the story’s antagonist, Ravana. After premiering at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures on October 7, the movie debuted in domestic theaters on November 5, shortly before Diwali, which takes place on November 8 this year.

Sony Pictures Entertainment has announced that Ramayana: Rise of a Legend is projected to earn a 3-day gross of $7.3 million at the domestic box office by the end of its traditional 3-day opening weekend, with a cumulative 4-day Thursday-to-Sunday gross of $10.8 million. The movie played on 1,433 screens, which marks the widest release that has ever been given to an Indian movie in North America.

While box office reports for Indian movies in North America are inconsistent, this $7.3 million total securely lands Ramayana: Rise of a Legend on the chart of the Top 10 highest-grossing domestic debuts in history for an Indian movie, and most likely lands it in the all-time Top 5 at No. 5, above the Shah Rukh Khan hit Pathaan, which debuted with $6.9 million.

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Ramayana has also officially earned the highest-grossing domestic debut for Ranbir Kapoor, who starred in 2023’s Animal. The movie’s success comes in the wake of an increasing interest in Indian cinema in the United States and Canada, which was kickstarted by the smash hit RRR. The 2022 Telugu-language historical action epic was a smash hit, becoming the third highest-grossing Indian movie in history at the time and the first Indian feature to win an Oscar (for Best Original Song).

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Ramayana: Rise of a Legend

Ramayana is the first part of an epic duology that brings the ancient Indian epic to the big screen. This film adaptation explores the legendary tale of Prince Rama, his quest to rescue his wife Sita, and the ensuing battle against the demon king Ravana.