A pre-Diwali slot with a plan behind it
Ramayana opened in cinemas today, Thursday November 5, three days before Diwali on Sunday November 8. That slot was a choice, not an accident. The makers picked a pre-Diwali Thursday so the film could build through the weekend and then ride the full festive week, with the biggest days still to come. Trade reports say the film will enjoy an extended run from release day through the Diwali holidays and into the days after the festival.
Advance booking backs that bet. The final advance closed at Rs 118.65 crore across India, with 32.53 lakh tickets sold as of 11pm IST on November 4, per Sacnilk via News18. Maharashtra led the presales, followed by Delhi and Karnataka. That is a strong start for a film opening before the festival, and it shows the Thursday slot did not cool demand.
Godzilla Minus Zero is the real global rival
The biggest clash is not in India. It is overseas, and it is for IMAX screens. Godzilla Minus Zero, the Japanese kaiju film from director Takashi Yamazaki, releases November 6, a day after Ramayana. It opened in Japan on November 3 and reaches the US on November 6. Both films were shot for premium large format screens, and both want the same IMAX halls in the same week.
Godzilla Minus Zero has already made history as the first Japanese film to receive the "Filmed for IMAX" certification, and reports say it could hold a two to three week primary IMAX window in some markets. Its predecessor, Godzilla Minus One, earned over 116 million dollars worldwide on a modest budget under 15 million dollars, and won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. That gives the sequel real pull with overseas audiences who book IMAX shows early.
In India, Godzilla is a smaller threat, and Ramayana should dominate domestic screens. Overseas is where the fight gets tight, because a viewer who wants an IMAX show on opening weekend may have to choose.
Tamil cinema and nostalgia join the fight on November 6
November 6 is the crowded day. Mookuthi Amman 2, the Tamil spiritual fantasy comedy starring Nayanthara and directed by Sundar C, is reported to release November 6. It is a sequel to the 2020 hit Mookuthi Amman, and it targets family audiences in Tamil Nadu and the Tamil diaspora. That puts it directly against Ramayana Tamil version in its home market, and trade will watch Chennai and Madurai closely.
The same day brings a nostalgia play. Mohra, the 1994 Akshay Kumar action hit, returns in a 4K remastered version on November 6, during Diwali week. Trimurti Films confirmed the re-release, with Rimpy Films International handling the theatrical return. Mohra will not beat Ramayana on screen count, but it will take single screens and older viewers who want songs and action they already love. One report even says a single screen cinema in Agra plans to show Mohra in all four daily shows, and skip Ramayana entirely that week.
Hollywood adds one more rival on November 6, the animated Cat in the Hat for families, and The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping arrives November 20, so Ramayana has about two clear weeks before the next big Hollywood title lands.
The holdover rival nobody should forget
There is one more film in the race, and it did not wait for Diwali. Jailer 2, the Rajinikanth sequel directed by Nelson Dilipkumar, released in cinemas on October 15, three weeks before Ramayana. It has been a box office success since then, and reports say it still had screens to itself in the days before Ramayana arrived. It is not a Diwali opener, but it is a live rival for the same Tamil and Telugu audiences.
Jailer 2 also brings a streaming twist to the festive week. Reports say Prime Video has set its global streaming premiere for November 12, 2026, in Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Malayalam and Kannada, though some reports note the platform and the makers had not formally confirmed the date at the time of writing. That is four weeks after its cinema release, and it lands right in the middle of Ramayana second week. A big streaming premiere can pull viewers home just when a cinema hit needs them to come back for a second watch.
One report also names a third Tamil film, Sehgal starring Suriya, as a possible November 6 release, but that could not be confirmed, so treat it as unconfirmed. The confirmed picture is already crowded enough, and Diwali 2026 will not hand Ramayana the week for free.
What trade expects from the clash
Trade opinion still leans Ramayana way, and the numbers show why. Bollywood Hungama trade piece from November 4 says trade expects Rs 60 to 70 crore in Hindi and Rs 100 crore in all languages on day one. Ramesh Bala, another trade voice, expects Rs 100 to 150 crore in India on day one. Taran Adarsh, who watched the film twice in 2D and 3D, called it "fantastic" and a "brilliant movie", and said it would be the highest pre-Diwali opener of all time.
The morning shows back that confidence so far. Per Sacnilk, the live Day 1 estimate as of 12:03 PM IST was Rs 17.10 crore net in India, Rs 20.18 crore gross, from 9,249 shows, with Hindi at Rs 12.55 crore. That is a live estimate, not a final total, and the final Day 1 total comes tonight.
The caution comes from the calendar, not the film. A pre-Diwali Thursday is not a holiday, so the first day depends on advance booking and city audiences. The festival days from November 8 onwards are where the records will be made or missed. If families turn out as trade hopes, the clash will look like a footnote by Monday. If they split their tickets between Ramayana and the November 6 arrivals, the second weekend will tell the real story.
What the trade is saying
Taran Adarsh (@taran_adarsh) on X, as quoted by News18, is confident the film will break records:
Sky is the limit. There is no stopping this film. It has grandeur and soul. I am very confident Ramayana will do well. It will shatter all records. More screens are being added as we speak.
Sources and reporting
- The Daily Jagran — October 31, 2026 · Verifies the Diwali clash lineup: Ramayana November 5, Mookuthi Amman 2 and Godzilla Minus Zero November 6
- NewsPoint — April 15, 2026 · Verifies the Godzilla Minus Zero IMAX clash, its Japan November 3 and US November 6 dates, and The Cat in the Hat, Hunger Games and Focker-In-Law dates
- Bollywood Mascot — November 2026 · Verifies the Mohra 4K re-release on November 6, 2026, confirmed by Trimurti Films
- Sacnilk — November 5, 2026 · Verifies the live Day 1 estimate as of 12:03 PM IST: Rs 17.10 crore net India, Rs 20.18 crore gross, 9,249 shows
