Diwali 2026 debut: Sony plans massive 59,000-screen release for Ramayana to surpass Avatar & RRR records

A trailer dropped during Brahma Muhurat on July 30, crossing one billion cumulative views across languages in just five days. Now, the team behind Nitesh Tiwari's two-part epic Ramayana is preparing a global theatrical rollout designed to rewrite the distribution playbook.

As reported by Hindustan Times, citing trade tracker Sacnilk, the producers plan to launch Ramayana: Part 1 across an unprecedented 59,000 screens worldwide. International distributor Sony Pictures is lining up more than 50,000 screens in overseas markets, while the domestic theatrical footprint in India is slated for roughly 9,000 screens.

Should the planned rollout materialise, Ramayana will comfortably surpass the global screen counts of Indian blockbusters like Pushpa 2: The Rule (12,000-13,000 screens) and RRR (10,000-11,000 screens). The scale would also eclipse Hollywood blockbusters, including James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water, which opened on roughly 52,000 screens globally.

Addressing the global reaction to the initial teaser footage, producer Namit Malhotra told Hindustan Times, “The trailer was released last week and I think it crossed over a billion views in five days, which is a great moment for India. I really appreciate all the love we've got from people all over the world. The aspiration is to now take it to the world as we are with our partnership with Sony Pictures. We are hoping to make sure that Ramayana now releases globally as a big universal film.”

Produced by Prime Focus Studios, DNEG, and Yash’s Monster Mind Creations, the ₹4,000 crore project features a star-studded ensemble led by Ranbir Kapoor (Lord Rama and Lord Parshurama), Sai Pallavi (Goddess Sita), Yash (Ravana), Sunny Deol (Lord Hanuman), Ravi Dubey (Lakshman), Lara Dutta (Queen Kaikeyi), Arun Govil (King Dasharath), Kajal Aggarwal (Mandodari), and Rakul Preet Singh.

The technical backing includes a joint soundtrack composed by Oscar winners Hans Zimmer and AR Rahman, alongside action direction by Mad Max stunt coordinator Guy Norris. To support its multi-region rollout, the film is expected to release in nearly 50 languages utilizing DNEG’s proprietary AI lip-sync technology, Brahma AI, alongside premium IMAX presentations.

Ramayana: Part 1 is scheduled to hit theaters worldwide on November 6, 2026, ahead of Diwali, with Part 2 scheduled for a Diwali 2027 release.