Ramayana box office: Ranbir Kapoor and Yash’s film roars past Rs 8 billion worldwide

A day after posting the biggest Monday ever recorded by an Indian film, Nitesh Tiwari's mythological epic slipped about 12.5% on its sixth day. It collected Rs 94.10 crore across all languages, down from Rs 107.50 crore on Monday, according to trade tracker Sacnilk. The drop is modest by weekday standards, and it does little to slow a film that is already rewriting the year's box office rankings.

That puts the Ranbir Kapoor and Yash-led film at third among Indian releases of 2026 worldwide. Jailer 2 is next on the list at Rs 829.65 crore, a gap Ramayana should close within a day. Catching Dhurandhar: The Revenge, which leads with Rs 1,852 crore, will take much longer.

The Hindi version filled 54.6% of seats overall on Tuesday, but the map is uneven. Bengaluru was the standout for the Hindi 3D version, with 90.5% occupancy across 265 shows. Jaipur came second at 73% over 154 shows. Mumbai held 66.3% across 945 shows and Delhi-NCR 57.8% across 1,105, while Hyderabad lagged at 37.3% over 157 shows.

Produced by Namit Malhotra's Prime Focus Studios with Yash's Monster Mind Creations, the film casts Ranbir Kapoor in a double role as Ram and Parshurama. Sai Pallavi plays Sita and Yash takes on Ravana. Ravi Dubey appears as Laxman, Arun Govil as King Dashrath, Indira Krishnan as Kaushalya and Lara Dutta as Kaikeyi. Sheeba Chaddha, Rakul Preet Singh and Kajal Aggarwal play Manthara, Surpanakha and Mandodari, and Sunny Deol plays Lord Hanuman.

Audiences who leave the theatre wanting the war with Ravana will have to wait. Malhotra has confirmed that Part Two will now arrive at Diwali 2028 instead of the original 2027 target, and the new window is shown in Part One's closing credits, though an exact date has not been set. The sequel will center on Rama's battle with Ravana, and the delay is meant to give the makers room to deliver it at full scale. A mid-credit scene teasing Sunny Deol's Hanuman sets up the anticipation.

There may be more to come. A third film has not been confirmed, and Malhotra has indicated it could depend on how audiences respond. Ranbir Kapoor has also suggested the source material could support much more; he has said the epic could easily have filled a 10-part franchise.

Malhotra's plans go well beyond cinema. In the days before release, he described a franchise built to compete with Hollywood's largest. Speaking at the film's Telugu pre-release event, he set it beside Star Wars, Marvel and DC, each of which built a universe, and then declared that "Ramayana is a universe."

The proposed expansion is wide. It includes spin-offs such as origin films, TV series and animated features, along with theme park attractions, a Broadway musical, and virtual reality, augmented reality and metaverse experiences. Video games are also part of the plan.

One stage project already has a direction. Sunny Deol is being considered for a big-budget musical centered on Hanuman, backed by Malhotra, combining mythology, pop opera, action and aerial combat choreography. The idea reportedly came from the writing of Hanuman's sequences in the film.

The ambition matches the money. Ramayana was made on a reported budget of Rs 4,000 crore, which makes it one of the most expensive film projects anywhere. Malhotra also leads DNEG, the visual effects company whose teams have won eight Academy Awards for films including Inception, Interstellar, Blade Runner 2049 and both Dune films. The score is by Academy Award winners Hans Zimmer and A.R. Rahman.

One week into its run, Ramayana has shown that an Indian epic can draw massive audiences on a weekday. The harder test is whether that enthusiasm lasts through a two-year wait for the sequel and grows into the theatres, theme parks and streaming platforms Malhotra has in mind. If Tuesday's numbers are any sign, he has a strong first chapter to build on.