Nitesh Tiwari's Ramayana Part 1 is heading for a huge opening at the Indian box office. According to The Indian Express, the Ranbir Kapoor-led film is expected to collect around Rs 125 crore on its first day, having already logged roughly Rs 112 crore in advance bookings. The newspaper reported the figures on Wednesday, 4 November 2026.
The film casts Kapoor as Lord Rama, with Sai Pallavi as Sita, Yash as Ravana and Sunny Deol as Hanuman. It is the first of two parts, with the second instalment slated for release at Diwali in 2028.
Why it matters
The advance-booking number reported by The Indian Express puts the film in rare company among Indian releases, and the day-one projection suggests the opening weekend will be one of the biggest of the year. For a two-part adaptation of an epic that audiences know intimately, that commercial weight also carries expectations: the film has to satisfy both spectacle and familiarity.
The early reception has been warm. The Indian Box Office trade handle gave the film 4.5 stars, describing it as a magnum opus that redefines Indian storytelling, according to The Indian Express. That review credited producer Namit Malhotra's vision and Tiwari's direction with producing what it called Indian cinema's most spectacular feature film.
What the early reviews single out
The Indian Express's roundup of the trade review points to several sequences as highlights: Lord Rama's introduction, the exchange between Brahma and Ravana, Ravana consolidating his position in Lanka, the Shiv Dhanush episode, and the emotional beats between Rama and Lakshmana, played by Kapoor and Ravie Dubey.
The review also praised the lead performances. Kapoor's Rama was described as powerful, Yash's Ravana as fiery, and Sai Pallavi's Sita as combining grace with strength. Sunny Deol's Hanuman drew praise as well, with the review noting that his character will have a larger presence in the second part.
IndieWire's review, headlined "Ramayana: Rise of a Legend," called the film a fittingly massive cinematic treatment of India's national epic. NDTV, meanwhile, gathered celebrity reactions, with one describing the film as a "blockbuster of epic proportions."
The Hindu published a cast breakdown that goes beyond the central roles of Rama and Ravana, while The Times of India has listed showtimes for the film in Alwar and other centres.
The scale behind the numbers
The Indian Express's account frames the film as a celebration of Indian storytelling backed by global cinematic ambition, a description that fits the size of its reported advance sales. The trade review's 4.5-star rating and its language about redefining Indian storytelling suggest that, at least among early trade observers, the film's scale has landed as intended.
The two-part structure is central to how the project has been presented. With the second film set for Diwali 2028, the first instalment carries the burden of establishing the world, the principal characters and the stakes. The review's note that Deol's Hanuman will be seen more fully in the second part indicates the sequel is being positioned as a continuation rather than a separate story.
For now, the numbers are the story. A projected Rs 125 crore opening day, following Rs 112 crore in advance bookings, gives the film a strong commercial start before word-of-mouth from general audiences has fully formed.
What to watch next: whether the opening-day estimate holds once final figures are tallied, and how the film performs through its first week as audience reactions join the early trade reviews.
