Ramayana advance sales climb past Rs 17 crore — NCR, Bengaluru and Mumbai lead

Produced by Namit Malhotra, the film stars Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Ram, Sai Pallavi as Sita and Yash as Ravana. It is scheduled to release worldwide on November 5, while paid previews in North America will take place a day earlier. 5 cr in advance bookings, eyes blockbuster opening For a film reportedly being made on a budget of around Rs 4,000 crore across two parts, the advance booking figures offer an encouraging start.

However, the final week will be important in deciding how big its opening could be. Ramayana advance booking: Collections rise from Rs 5.44 crore to Rs 17 crore in 10 days Advance bookings for Ramayana opened on October 20, on the occasion of Dussehra. During the first 24 hours, the film recorded Rs 5.44 crore in gross sales, including blocked seats. The collection stood at Rs 3.61 crore after blocked seats were excluded, Sacnilk reported.

The numbers have continued to rise since then. By the morning of October 30, gross advance bookings had reached Rs 17.07 crore, while collections excluding blocked seats stood at Rs 14.22 crore. These bookings cover 735 cinemas across 206 cities. The film also added Rs 56.49 lakh to its gross advance collection in the six hours leading up to the October 30 morning update. Out of this, Rs 54.71 lakh came from actual ticket sales, excluding blocked seats.

Collections excluding blocked seats have increased nearly four times since bookings opened. At the same time, blocked seats have fallen from around one-third of the total gross to roughly one-sixth. The film's overall occupancy is around 21%, falling to 18% after blocked seats are excluded. So far, only six shows have completely sold out, while 22 shows are house full. Around 89% of the shows still have more than half their seats available, leaving room for bookings to increase in the final six days.

The advance booking figures have grown steadily over the past 10 days. Among cities, the National Capital Region (NCR) is leading with Rs 3.05 crore, accounting for 18% of the total gross bookings. Bengaluru follows with Rs 2.85 crore, while Mumbai has recorded Rs 2.29 crore, according to Sacnilk's latest figures. According to Sacnilk, premium formats such as IMAX, 4DX, Dolby, ICE and EPIQ have contributed 26% of the total advance gross.

Their combined collection stands at Rs 4.38 crore, or Rs 4.02 crore after blocked seats are excluded. Interestingly, these formats account for only around 5% of the total shows. Hindi IMAX 3D alone has collected Rs 3.02 crore from just 142 shows. This is close to one-fifth of the film's total advance bookings. Audiences are also paying much higher prices to watch the film in these formats. The average ticket price for Hindi IMAX 3D stands at Rs 1,135, while Kannada IMAX 3D tickets cost an average of Rs 1,449.

In comparison, the average ticket price is Rs 493 for standard Hindi 3D shows and Rs 375 for Hindi 2D screenings. The difference can also be seen in the number of tickets sold per show. The 142 Hindi IMAX shows have sold around 188 tickets each on average. Standard Hindi 3D shows, on the other hand, have sold around 41 tickets per show. This means Hindi IMAX screenings are selling more than four times as many tickets per show as regular Hindi 3D screenings.

However, standard Hindi 3D remains the biggest contributor in terms of ticket sales, accounting for 49% of the total gross, or Rs 8.33 crore. Hindi accounts for 83% of bookings, Karnataka and Telangana show strong response The Hindi version is leading the domestic advance bookings, contributing 83% of the total collection. According to Sacnilk, Hindi has collected Rs 14.16 crore from 6,191 shows. Kannada is in second place with 14%, or Rs 2.36 crore from 449 shows.

Telugu accounts for 3%, with Rs 49.69 lakh from 77 shows. The Tamil version has collected Rs 5.49 lakh, accounting for less than 1% of the total. While Hindi is contributing most of the money, some southern markets are seeing higher occupancy. 53 crore in gross advance bookings, accounting for 21% of the total. Maharashtra follows with Rs 3.34 crore, while Delhi has recorded Rs 3.05 crore. Karnataka's occupancy stands at around 33%.

Telangana is seeing an even stronger response, with occupancy reaching 68%. Hyderabad alone has recorded 13 housefull shows. Bengaluru accounts for 73% of the total Kannada-language advance collection. Yash's Monster Mind Creations is handling the film's distribution in Karnataka. Dil Raju is looking after Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, Think Studios is handling Tamil Nadu, while E4 Entertainment is responsible for Kerala, Business Today reported.

Ramayana overseas advance booking crosses $2 million The film is also seeing good advance sales in international markets. According to Sacnilk, worldwide advance bookings had crossed $2 million, or around Rs 20.50 crore, by October 25. The figures covered around 2.25 lakh tickets across the markets being tracked, including India. More than $550,000 came from North American paid previews scheduled for November 4.

India contributed over $1.2 million in opening-day advance bookings, while other international markets added more than $400,000. The North American premiere bookings have seen a particularly sharp rise. Sacnilk reported that sales for these shows had increased to around $800,000, compared with $631,000 a day earlier. This is a jump of nearly 27%, with eight days still left before the previews. With bookings approaching $1 million, Ramayana is getting closer to the premiere collection of Ranbir Kapoor's Animal.

The 2023 film had recorded around $1 million from its North American premiere, setting an important benchmark for Hindi films in the market. Sony Pictures is reportedly preparing to release Ramayana across more than 50,000 screens internationally, according to Sacnilk, as cited by Outlook India.