India's $200 Million Fantasy Epic 'Ramayana' Opens to a Troubling $55 Million Worldwide

The top-five list of domestic box office was bookended by two international titles this past weekend. Japan's Godzilla Minus Zero took the number-one spot with a record-breaking haul, while India's Ramayana: Rise of a Legend claimed the fifth position. Based on a mythological text sacred to Hindus, Ramayana is notable for being the most expensive Indian film ever made. According to its producer, Namit Malhotra, the two-part project cost around $400 million to produce. Ramayana will be followed by a sequel that's currently slated for a 2028 release.

Godzilla Minus Zero, on the other hand, is the sequel to 2023's word-of-mouth sensation Godzilla Minus One. The original movie defied the odds to gross more than $110 million worldwide against a reported budget of $10 million, and rode a wave of positive buzz to win the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. Godzilla Minus One now holds a 99% critics' score on Rotten Tomatoes, while Godzilla Minus Zero is sitting at a 90% score on the aggregator website.

Here's How Much 'Ramayana' Grossed at the Box Office

Coincidentally, both Godzilla Minus Zero and Ramayana hold higher audience scores on Rotten Tomatoes. While the period action sequel is now perched at a "Verified Hot" 96% audience score on the aggregator website, Ramayana holds a "Verified Hot" 93% score. Ramayana's critics' score, on the other hand, is 76% based on 50 reviews currently listed on the site. The movie follows Lord Rama after his banishment from the kingdom of Ayodhya. He is joined by his brother Lakshman and his wife Sita. Meanwhile, the demon king Ravana captures the kingdom of Lanka. The first part ends with Ravana kidnapping Sita, setting up an epic battle between good and evil.

Ravana's eventual defeat, which will be depicted in the sequel, is celebrated by Hindus all over the world as the festival of Dussehra. Rama's return home, on the other hand, is celebrated as Diwali. Ramayana's release was timed to Diwali this year. Directed by Nitesh Tiwari, who previously directed the highest-grossing Indian film of all time at the global box office — the sports drama Dangal — Ramayana grossed $12 million domestically this weekend. It grossed $55 million worldwide, with the majority of its haul coming from India. Whether this is enough to justify its $200 million budget, and the release of an equally expensive sequel, remains to be seen.