5 days ago, Bollywood Hungama reported that Ramayana is expected to release a week before Diwali, on October 30. The initial plan was to bring it in cinemas on the day of the Festival of Lights. A source told us, “Namit Malhotra wants the film to establish itself before the Diwali period. He wants the word of mouth to spread all across, so that the business peaks in the second week. He is here to redefine business by not just bringing a pre-Diwali release, but also a film that scores a bigger second week than the first due to the festive period. The conversation to pre-pone by a week is underway, and a final decision will be taken soon.”

EXCLUSIVE: Ramayana, Godzilla Minus Zero and the IMAX factor – Why October 30 is being seen as a strategic date

Bollywood Hungama has learned that there’s another strategic reason behind the preponement. A trade source told us, “Ramayana is filmed for IMAX and there’s a lot of curiosity to catch the film in the non-traditional markets overseas, especially North America. Meanwhile, another major biggie, Godzilla Minus Zero, is set for release at the same time, on November 6. It is the first Japanese production filmed for IMAX and there’s an insane demand for it as well, especially after the first part, Godzilla Minus One (2023), became a sleeper blockbuster in Japan and other parts of the world.”

The source added, “IMAX was clear that both Ramayana and Godzilla Minus Zero are going to be major crowd pullers in the US and Canada. They spoke to the makers and this is when Ramayana’s producer Namit Malhotra informed the corporation that they were anyway planning to bring the film a week before. The IMAX factor became an added reason to prepone the release on October 30.”

The source further said, “Once the new release date is locked, Ramayana will be well-positioned to secure all IMAX screens in North America. It goes without saying that it’ll also be the biggest overseas release ever for an Indian film.”

Ramayana stars Ranbir Kapoor as Rama, Yash as Ravana, Sai Pallavi as Sita and Sunny Deol as Hanuman. It is directed by Nitesh Tiwari.

Also Read: Namit Malhotra contemplating a masterstroke to prepone Ramayana to October 30, 2026, a week before Diwali