Nitesh Tiwari’s Ramayana: Part One, one of the most anticipated Indian films of the year, opened in cinemas in the UAE and India on Thursday, November 5, after advance ticket sales that ran into tens of crores of rupees.
The film stars Ranbir Kapoor as Rama, Sai Pallavi as Sita and Yash as Ravana, with Ravie Dubey as Lakshman and Sunny Deol as Hanuman. It is the first of two parts, with the second expected around Diwali 2027, according to Gulf News.
Release details for UAE viewers
- UAE release date: Thursday, November 5, 2026
- Languages: Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and English
- Formats: released worldwide in IMAX as well as standard screens
- Running time: more than three hours, according to India TV’s review
- Director: Nitesh Tiwari, who co-wrote the film with Shridhar Raghavan
- Music: A.R. Rahman and Hans Zimmer
Gulf News, citing VOX Cinemas listings, included the film among the first-week releases of November in UAE cinemas. Show times vary by cinema chain and location, so it is worth checking individual listings before travelling, especially for IMAX sessions over the Diwali weekend.
It shares the week with several other new titles in UAE cinemas, including The Cat in the Hat and the Japanese release Godzilla Minus Zero, while a group of Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films follows on November 6, according to the same listings.
Advance bookings
Box office tracking site Sacnilk reported that, as of 8pm India time on November 4, advance bookings in India for the first five days of release had reached about ₹111.89 crore gross, including blocked seats, across more than 95,000 shows.
For the opening day alone, Sacnilk put advance sales at around ₹42.69 crore gross from 25,640 shows, with an average occupancy of about 20 per cent at that point. Hindi-language shows accounted for roughly 81 per cent of the total, followed by Telugu and Kannada.
These are advance figures from a tracking service, not official collections. First-day box office numbers are usually reported by producers and trade analysts the following day.
Cast, crew and early reviews
Beyond the lead cast, the ensemble includes Rakul Preet Singh as Shurpanakha, Lara Dutta as Kaikeyi and Arun Govil as King Dasharatha, while Anupam Kher voices Jatayu, according to India TV. Visual effects are by DNEG.
The first part follows the story up to Ravana’s abduction of Sita and her journey to Lanka, leaving the confrontation between Rama and Ravana for the sequel.
India TV, which published one of the first reviews on release morning, gave the film four out of five. Its reviewer praised the scale and emotional weight of the retelling, while noting slow stretches and some uneven visual effects.
The film’s team held a special screening for cast, crew and industry guests in Mumbai on November 3, FilmiBeat reported. That followed the film’s Los Angeles premiere in late October.
Before release
The makers took legal steps against piracy ahead of the release. Al Gulf News reported earlier on the Bombay High Court order protecting Ramayana against unauthorised copies.
