Ramayana advance bookings pass $1 million in US as release nears

Advance bookings for Ramayana have passed $1 million in the United States, as the epic prepares for release in four to five days. The film stars Ranbir Kapoor as Rama, Sai Pallavi as Sita and Yash as Ravana. Nitesh Tiwari directed it, and Namit Malhotra produced it.

In India, ticket sales were gaining pace. By 3 PM on Saturday, about 1.70 lakh tickets had been sold across PVRInox and Cinepolis, the country's two largest multiplex chains. Pre-sales are expected to reach 2 lakh by the end of Sunday. Around 50,000 tickets were sold on BookMyShow on a single day.

The film has a large budget and high expectations. It had its premiere in Los Angeles, where early reactions were positive. Ramayana will open in several languages and formats. Hans Zimmer and AR Rahman have composed its music.

Trade analysts said the film's pricing is high and its release is wide. That could help it open strongly. The pre-Diwali period could affect how many people go to the cinema, and the next few days will show how the advance sales develop.

The film is on track to open bigger than Animal and Toxic, and could challenge Jawan for the title of the third-biggest opener of all time. Sales in non-national chains have only just started, so the full picture of the opening day is not yet clear.

Official box office targets have not been released, and it is not yet known how the film will perform once it opens.