Ramayana: Part 1 is ten days away from its November 5 theatrical release and the advance booking numbers are already making trade circles sit up. The Nitesh Tiwari directorial has crossed Rs 20.50 crore in worldwide pre-sales, with around 2.25 lakh tickets sold across tracked markets before a single public show has ended. For a mythological epic that carries a reported Rs 4,000 crore budget across both parts, the opening will decide how big this franchise can get.
Here is everything buyers are searching for right now: release date and launch details, the full cast, the story premise, what the trade is saying, the advance booking breakdown, and the expected OTT window.
Release Date and Launch Details
Ramayana: Part 1 (also promoted as Ramayana: Rise of a Legend) releases worldwide on November 5, 2026, in Hindi, Telugu and Kannada. North America gets preview screenings a day earlier, on November 4, and the film premieres at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles on October 27, 2026.
The film is directed by Nitesh Tiwari, who co-wrote the screenplay with Shridhar Raghavan. Dialogues are by Shreyas Jain and Nitesh Tiwari. Namit Malhotra produces under Prime Focus Studios and Monster Mind Creations, and the music is a rare double bill: Hans Zimmer and A. R. Rahman. Cinematography is by Mahesh Limaye and Pankaj Kumar, with Huzefa Lokhandwala editing.
The CBFC has passed the film with a U certificate and a runtime of 3 hours 15 minutes. That length means theatres are fitting fewer shows per day than usual, which is one reason exhibitors are still adding screens as release week approaches. Theatrical distribution is split regionally: Dil Raju handles Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, Yash has taken Karnataka, Think Studios covers Tamil Nadu and E4 Films has Kerala.
Full Cast
Ranbir Kapoor leads the cast as Lord Ram, with Sai Pallavi as Sita and Yash of KGF fame making his Hindi film debut as Ravana. Sunny Deol plays Hanuman, a look that was teased at the film’s Hyderabad pre-release event on October 19.
The supporting cast is deep:
- Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Ram
- Sai Pallavi as Sita
- Yash as Ravana
- Sunny Deol as Hanuman
- Ravi Dubey in his film debut
- Anupam Kher
- Kajal Aggarwal
- Rakul Preet Singh
- Vivek Oberoi
- Kunal Kapoor
- Adinath Kothare
- Arun Govil
- Indira Krishnan
- Lara Dutta
The casting of Arun Govil, who played Ram in Ramanand Sagar’s television Ramayana, has been a quiet favourite with fans since the first look. Producer Namit Malhotra has also said he plans spin-offs around Hanuman and other characters if Part 1 delivers at the box office.
Story Summary
The film adapts Valmiki’s Ramayana, the epic that chronicles the life and trials of Prince Ram of Ayodhya. Part 1 follows the young prince from his early years and his marriage to Sita through the exile that takes them into the forest, building towards the conflict with Ravana that the second part will complete.
The trailers have kept the scale mythological rather than gritty: the second trailer, built around a Rama and Ravana face-off, drove a clear jump in booking interest. Nothing beyond the well-known epic outline has been revealed, and the film is expected to end where the great war begins.
What Critics Are Saying
No review verdicts are out yet. Formal reviews will only publish after the film’s release, so any ratings you see online right now are not from real screenings. What is measurable is industry expectation. The film topped IMDb’s list of most anticipated Indian movies of 2026, and trade tracker Sacnilk reports that analysts are eyeing a Rs 70 crore opening day if national chain sales hold their current pace.
For scale, trade coverage on Sacnilk notes that Jailer 2 set a high recent bar with Rs 236.65 crore gross outside Tamil Nadu in 11 days, becoming the biggest Tamil grosser worldwide by beating 2.0. The same trade desk has openly asked whether Ramayana can go bigger and set a new benchmark. Expect real critic ratings on November 5 and 6.
Box Office Collection
Ramayana has not started its theatrical run yet, so there are no day-wise collections. The number to track is advance booking, and it is growing faster than the show count.
Worldwide advance booking crossed the $2 million mark on October 25, about Rs 20.50 crore gross, combining November 4 preview screenings with opening-day reservations for November 5. Around 2.25 lakh tickets are sold across tracked international markets and India. The breakdown reported by Sacnilk:
- North America previews (November 4): $550K plus
- India opening day (November 5): $1.20M plus
- Overseas opening day (November 5): $400K plus
- Total opening day excluding previews: $1.60M plus
The India picture is even more detailed. As of October 23, 10 AM, the film had sold 1.47 lakh tickets across 3,964 shows in 121 cities for Rs 8.27 crore gross including block seats, or Rs 6.25 crore excluding them. Hindi shows are leading, and the average tickets per show climbed from 26 to 37 in a matter of days.
The quality of that demand matters as much as the total. Blocked seats, which exhibitors hold back, made up about 34 percent of the initial gross and now account for roughly 24 percent. Of the Rs 2.83 crore added between the first 24 hours and October 23, around 93 percent came from genuine ticket purchases rather than blocked inventory. Growth excluding block seats has run at about 73 percent, against 52 percent for the headline number.
The film had sold over 50,000 opening-day tickets across PVR INOX and Cinepolis by Thursday night. Trade desks see 3.5 lakh opening-day tickets across the three national chains as a strong benchmark for a pre-Diwali release, with 5 lakh as the ambitious target. No tracked show is fully sold out yet, so the inventory exists if demand keeps climbing. The final stretch of advance sales, from around October 29, will decide the opening.
Two cautions for anyone reading early trackers. First, an earlier revenue-sharing disagreement between distributors and exhibitors delayed the full rollout of bookings, so some screens joined late. Second, comparisons with Dhurandhar: The Revenge, which sold over 9.50 lakh opening-day advance tickets across more than 17,000 shows, are not like for like yet, since Ramayana’s show count is still being expanded.
OTT Release: Where to Watch
The streaming rights holder for Ramayana: Part 1 has not been officially announced as of October 26, 2026, so treat any platform name you see online as unconfirmed. Theatrical comes first on November 5, and the makers have made it clear that the theatrical window is the priority.
Based on how recent Hindi tentpoles have moved, an OTT release is expected roughly six to eight weeks after theatrical, which puts the expected streaming window around late December 2026 or January 2027. That window is an estimate, not a confirmed date. With Namit Malhotra planning Hanuman and other spin-offs, the digital rights deal will likely be a big one. We will update this section when the platform is confirmed.
FAQ
What is the Ramayana box office collection day 1 prediction?
Trade trackers are eyeing a Rs 70 crore opening day if the current advance pace holds. The film has sold 1.47 lakh tickets in India and crossed Rs 20.50 crore in worldwide pre-sales so far. Real day 1 numbers land on November 5.
What is the Ramayana advance booking total right now?
Worldwide advance booking stands at about Rs 20.50 crore gross ($2.15M plus) including November 4 North America previews. In India, the figure is Rs 8.27 crore gross including block seats, with 1.47 lakh tickets sold across 3,964 shows in 121 cities.
Who is in the Ramayana cast?
Ranbir Kapoor plays Lord Ram, Sai Pallavi plays Sita, Yash plays Ravana and Sunny Deol plays Hanuman. The supporting cast includes Ravi Dubey, Anupam Kher, Kajal Aggarwal, Rakul Preet Singh, Vivek Oberoi, Kunal Kapoor, Adinath Kothare, Arun Govil, Indira Krishnan and Lara Dutta.
When is the Ramayana OTT release date?
No streaming platform or date has been confirmed. The film releases in theatres on November 5, 2026, and an OTT arrival is expected around late December 2026 or January 2027 based on recent release windows. Treat that as an expected window until an official announcement.
What is the runtime and certificate of Ramayana: Part 1?
The film has been passed with a U certificate and runs 3 hours 15 minutes. It releases in Hindi, Telugu and Kannada on November 5, 2026, with North America previews on November 4.
