Prominent film exhibitors have declared that Ranbir Kapoor's Ramayana will need to surpass Dhurandhar's box-office records to validate Bollywood's 2026 slate, according to The Times of India. The sentiment reveals an industry dangerously over-indexed on a single tentpole, with exhibitors admitting even the Adipurush shadow must be overcome.
Here is a sentence you almost never hear a film exhibitor say out loud: this one film has to land. Not "we're excited," not "it looks promising" — has to. That is the precise language a prominent exhibitor used while discussing Ranbir Kapoor's Ramayana with The Times of india, adding that the Nitesh Tiwari-directed epic will beat the records set by Ranveer Singh's Dhurandhar. The confidence sounds bullish. The grammar is desperate.
And that desperation is the real story — not whether Ramayana opens at ₹50 crore or ₹80 crore, but that Bollywood's entire theatrical ecosystem in 2026 has been quietly reduced to a one-film insurance policy.
Dhurandhar Set the Bar — But Also Exposed the Void
Ranveer Singh's Dhurandhar has been the year's undeniable box-office champion so far, earning the kind of numbers that make multiplex owners sleep soundly for a quarter. But here is the uncomfortable arithmetic exhibitors know by heart: one mega-hit does not make a calendar. Between isolated successes, screens go dark — or worse, run half-empty with mid-budget films that neither excite audiences nor cover print costs. As trade analyst Taran adarsh has noted, Ramayana is shaping up to be a "trendsetter," per his public remarks — industry-speak for a film expected to reset benchmarks, not merely meet them.
The exhibitor's quote to The Times of india is revealing in another dimension: they explicitly acknowledged the Adipurush problem. "Even Adi—" the reference trails off, but the meaning is unmistakable. Prabhas's 2023 Adipurush was intended to be the definitive cinematic Ramayana; instead, it drew widespread critical pans — reviewers across outlets including NDTV, Hindustan Times, and india Today described its VFX as substandard and its storytelling as hollow, and the film holds a 10% critics' score on Rotten Tomatoes. That critical drubbing became a cautionary tale that still haunts any mythological tentpole. That an exhibitor brings it up unprompted — years later — tells you the scar tissue hasn't healed. Ramayana doesn't just need to be a hit. It needs to be an exorcism.
The Big-Budget Question: Why So Much Rides on One Film
Namit Malhotra's Prime Focus has bankrolled Ramayana at what trade sources describe as one of the most expensive indian films ever made, though no official budget figure has been confirmed by the makers. The teaser, featuring ranbir kapoor as Lord Rama alongside Yash, has already generated enormous anticipation, with YouTube view counts running into tens of millions within days of release, according to publicly available platform data.
But anticipation is not revenue. The exhibitor community's open lobbying — essentially telling audiences before the film releases that it will beat Dhurandhar — is a tactic born of structural anxiety. Bollywood's theatrical model in 2026 faces a three-front war: OTT platforms that compress exclusive windows, South indian films that routinely claim Hindi-belt screens, and a post-pandemic audience that has become ruthlessly selective about what deserves the ₹300-plus ticket-plus-popcorn commitment. In this environment, exhibitors cannot afford a Ramayana that merely does well. They need it to be an event — the kind of film that brings lapsed moviegoers back to theatres.
Ranbir's Trajectory — And the Weight of a god on His Shoulders
Consider Ranbir Kapoor's recent arc. Animal was polarising but commercially monstrous. Before that, Brahmastra underperformed relative to its astronomical budget but still earned enough to keep the franchise breathing. Now, as Lord Rama, Ranbir carries not just a character but a civilisational expectation. Glimpses of his physical transformation have surfaced in behind-the-scenes footage shared by the production on official social-media channels, signalling the seriousness of the undertaking.
Actor Abhay Arora, who has worked with both ranveer singh on Dhurandhar and Ranbir on Ramayana, has spoken about both sets in public-facing interviews: the energy on both was electric, but the scale of Ramayana is in a different league entirely. That tracks. Nitesh Tiwari, the dangal director, is not known for spectacle — he is known for emotional precision. The bet here is that he can marry Prime Focus's technological firepower with the intimate devotional register the material demands. If he pulls it off, comparisons to Adipurush will evaporate. If the VFX even wobble, they will calcify.
The industry Undercurrent No One Is Saying Aloud
What exhibitors are really telling you, beneath the bravado, is that Bollywood's theatrical pipeline has a concentration-risk problem. When an industry's health depends on whether one film's VFX hold up and one star's performance resonates, that is not confidence — it is a prayer disguised as a prediction. Dhurandhar proved audiences will still show up in massive numbers for the right product. But "the right product" arrived maybe twice in the first half of 2026. Exhibitors need Ramayana to arrive as a third — and preferably a record-breaker — to justify the screen-expansion investments many multiplexes have already committed to.
The deeper question the trade should be asking is not whether Ramayana will beat Dhurandhar. It is why an industry that, according to CBFC certification data, produces over 1,500 films a year keeps ending up with only two or three that matter at the box office. That structural hollowing-out — the missing middle of ₹50-100 crore earners that used to sustain exhibitors between tentpoles — is the crisis no teaser trailer can fix.
Ramayana may well shatter every record. The teaser suggests craft, ambition, and a visual grammar that critics widely agreed Adipurush never achieved. Ranbir's commitment looks genuine. Nitesh Tiwari's track record commands respect. But if you are an exhibitor lighting a diya at the altar of one unreleased film's box-office prospects and calling it a market forecast — perhaps pause to ask why the temple has only one idol left.
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Key Takeaways
- Film exhibitors have told The Times of india that Ranbir Kapoor's Ramayana will surpass Dhurandhar's box-office records, framing it as a must-deliver tentpole for Bollywood's 2026 calendar.
- The exhibitor community explicitly referenced the Adipurush shadow, acknowledging Ramayana must overcome the reputational damage that film — widely panned by critics across major outlets — inflicted on mythological tentpoles.
- Trade analyst Taran adarsh has publicly called Ramayana a potential 'trendsetter,' signalling industry expectations of benchmark-resetting performance.
- Bollywood's 2026 theatrical model faces a concentration-risk problem: exhibitor health depends on two or three mega-hits rather than a sustainable middle tier of earners.
- Ramayana's unconfirmed but reportedly massive budget, Prime Focus VFX backing, and Nitesh Tiwari's directorial pedigree represent Bollywood's biggest single bet of the year.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will Ranbir Kapoor's Ramayana beat Dhurandhar at the box office?
Prominent film exhibitors have told The Times of india they believe Ramayana will surpass Dhurandhar's records, though the film has not yet released and final box-office performance remains uncertain.
Is ranbir kapoor in the Dhurandhar movie?
No. Dhurandhar stars Ranveer Singh. Ranbir Kapoor's major 2026 release is Ramayana, directed by Nitesh Tiwari and produced by Namit Malhotra's Prime Focus.
Is ranbir kapoor doing a double role in Ramayana?
There has been no confirmed report from the makers about a double role. ranbir kapoor plays Lord Rama in the Nitesh Tiwari-directed film, with yash also featuring in a prominent role.
When is Ramayana Part 1 releasing?
An exact release date has not been officially confirmed as of mid-2026, though the teaser has been released and the film is expected later in 2026, according to trade reports.
How does Ramayana differ from Adipurush?
Ramayana is directed by Nitesh Tiwari (Dangal) with VFX by Namit Malhotra's Prime Focus, a different creative and technical team from Adipurush. Exhibitors have acknowledged the Adipurush comparison as a challenge Ramayana must overcome.
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