In a major milestone, two Asian films — India's Ramayana: Rise of a Legend and Japan's Godzilla Minus Zero — have topped the global box-office charts in their opening weekends.
Directed by Nitesh Tiwari and starring Ranbir Kapoor, Yash and Sai Pallavi, Ramayana has emerged as the world’s second-highest-grossing film for the weekend ending November 8, according to Comscore’s worldwide box-office estimates. The Namit Malhotra-backed production earned $52.15 million across 38 territories, finishing behind Godzilla Minus Zero, which collected $63 million from 101 territories. It's worth noting that Godzilla Minus Zero has been delayed by two weeks in India considering the Ramayana craze.
The first instalment of a two-part epic, Ramayana raced ahead of The Cat in the Hat, which earned $30.5 million across 61 territories. The mythological adaptation has also set a new record for the biggest opening weekend by an Indian film in the UK and Ireland, earning £1.7 million from November 6-8 across 364 cinemas. Including previews, its collection stands at £2.2 million, surpassing the previous record held by Dhurandhar: The Revenge (£2.1 million).
The film, distributed internationally by Sony Pictures, finished ahead of Godzilla Minus Zero in the territory, which debuted in second place with £1.1 million from 474 cinemas over the same weekend. Including previews, its collection reached £1.4 million.
From a domestic standpoint, Ramayana registered a massive 91.5 percent jump on Monday, hauling in a staggering ₹107.50 crore net across India. The single-day surge pushed the film's 5-day domestic net total to ₹346.35 crore (gross of ₹413.90 crore). Globally, Ramayana stands at a massive worldwide gross of ₹663.90 crore within just five days, supported by a ₹250.00 crore contribution from overseas markets.
Ramayana is reportedly mounted on a budget of ₹4,000 crore ($500 million) over its two parts. The first instalment concludes with the abduction of Sita by Ravana, setting the stage for an epic battle between good and evil in the 2028 conclusion.