Sony’s Ramayana: Rise of a Legend opened with $55.7 million worldwide, according to Deadline’s figures as reported by ComingSoon, but only finished fifth in North America. The Indian epic took $8.65 million from 1,433 theaters over the three-day weekend of November 6 to 8, the widest North American release ever for an Indian film.
The numbers
- North America, three days: $8.65 million, No. 5. Box Office Mojo’s weekend chart lists $8,939,505 in its later actuals.
- North America, four days with previews: $12.1 million. Sony had projected $7.3 million for three days and $10.8 million for four, per Screen Rant.
- India: $32 million, with about $11.5 million from 37 other territories handled by Sony, per ComingSoon’s breakdown of Deadline’s report.
- Records: ComingSoon says it is the second-biggest four-day North American start for an Indian film, behind Dhurandhar 2: The Revenge ($14 million in March). Screen Rant, using three-day figures, says it most likely ranks fifth on the all-time list, ahead of Pathaan ($6.9 million). Screen Rant also warns that North American reports for Indian films are inconsistent.
Who went
PostTrak exit polling cited by ComingSoon gave an 86 percent top-two-box score and a 75 percent definite-recommend score. Seventy-one percent of the audience was Asian American, 61 percent was male, and people aged 25 to 34 were the largest group at 40 percent. A handful of IMAX and other premium large-format screens produced about 40 percent of the gross. The best-performing theater was the LSQ Cinema Bistro in Washington with $70,000 through Saturday. On Rotten Tomatoes the film had 76 percent from critics and 89 percent from audiences, per Screen Rant.
About the film
Nitesh Tiwari directed and co-wrote this first part of a two-part adaptation of the Ramayana. Ranbir Kapoor plays Rama, Yash plays Ravana in his Bollywood debut, and Sai Pallavi plays Sita. Hans Zimmer and A.R. Rahman composed the score, and ComingSoon describes it as Zimmer’s first Indian film. Prime Focus Studios produced it, with Sony handling overseas distribution. ComingSoon says Part 2 has been pushed back a year, to 2028.
Related Reading
Budget reports vary. Screen Rant puts the cost at about ₹2,000 crore (around $210 million) for this part, making it the most expensive Indian film to date, and estimates a break-even point as high as $525 million. ComingSoon cites a combined $420 million to $500 million for the two parts. Treat both as unconfirmed estimates.
How it compares
The same weekend belonged to Japan’s Godzilla Minus Zero, which won both the domestic chart and the global one with about $63 million worldwide, per Deadline’s figures as relayed by ComingSoon. The A24 documentary You Can See Everything also stayed in the top five; see our earlier report on its run, and our look at Clayface’s opening for another recent release.
Sources
Like our coverage? Add xplorely.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our stories in Top Stories.
