Nitesh Tiwari’s Ramayana: Rise of a Legend has become the first Indian film to top the UK and Ireland box office weekend chart, collecting £2.14 million during its opening weekend from November 6 to 8, according to figures released by the British Film Institute (BFI).
Distributed by Sony Pictures, the film secured the top position across 361 cinemas, averaging £5,951 per location. Its total included £435,875 from previews at 337 venues.
Earlier, Indian films such as RRR, Pathaan, Jawan and Dhurandhar: The Revenge had reached second place in the territory.
Ramayana pushed Disney’s Wild Horse Nine to second place with £1.47 million, while Godzilla Minus Zero ranked third with £1.39 million.
Other films in the top 10 included Wicker (£1.12 million), George Michael: The Faith Tour (£1.02 million), Primetime (£843,456), Ghosts: The Possession of Button House (£747,374), Clayface (£683,058), I Play Rocky (£607,741) and Stray Kids World Tour ‘RUN IT’ Live Viewing (£594,832). Another Indian release, Scene, ranked 14th with £301,808.
The top 15 films collected £12.38 million during the weekend, up 27.3 per cent from the previous weekend and 70.8 per cent compared with the same weekend last year.
Directed by Tiwari and produced by Namit Malhotra and Yash, Ramayana is following a phased international release. It is scheduled to open in Hong Kong, Mexico and parts of Central Asia on November 12, followed by Brazil, Italy, Ukraine and Hungary on November 19.
Poland is scheduled for November 20, while Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and other Latin American markets are slated for November 26.
