Ranbir Kapoor's much-awaited film Ramayana has made a spectacular start at the box office, exceeding expectations with its opening-day performance. The film has already broken the opening-day collection record of Ranbir's blockbuster Animal, achieving the milestone within just 16 hours of its theatrical release.

The strong response reflects the massive anticipation surrounding the mythological epic, which has attracted considerable attention among moviegoers. With impressive collections reported throughout the day, Ramayana is now emerging as one of the biggest theatrical releases of Ranbir Kapoor's career.

Interestingly, the film has surpassed Animal's first-day earnings even before completing its opening day. Here is a closer look at the box office numbers.

Ramayana vs Animal: How Much Did Both Films Earn?

Ranbir Kapoor's Animal enjoyed a phenomenal opening when it arrived in theatres. The film collected approximately ₹76.10 crore gross at the Indian box office on its first day, with a net collection of ₹63.80 crore.

However, Ramayana has managed to surpass these figures in just 16 hours.

According to Sacnilk, Ramayana had collected approximately ₹77.50 crore gross domestically by 10 PM on November 5. Its reported net collection stood at ₹64.85 crore.

This means the film had already crossed Animal's opening-day gross and net collections between 6 AM and 10 PM on its first day.

The final opening-day figures were still awaited, with updated numbers expected on November 6.

Can Ramayana Become Ranbir Kapoor's Biggest Film?

With such a strong opening, expectations are increasing that Ramayana could eventually become the biggest film of Ranbir Kapoor's career.

Currently, Animal holds the position of his highest-grossing film, with worldwide collections of approximately ₹917 crore.

If Ramayana maintains its momentum over the coming days and performs strongly in international markets, it could potentially surpass Animal's lifetime worldwide collection.

The film is planned as a two-part cinematic project, with a reported combined budget of approximately ₹4,000 crore. If the budget is divided equally, each instalment would account for around ₹2,000 crore.

This makes the film one of the most ambitious Indian cinematic projects ever undertaken.

Why Are Expectations So High for Ramayana?

Ramayana has generated enormous interest because of its scale, subject matter and star cast.

Ranbir Kapoor's portrayal of Lord Rama has been one of the biggest talking points surrounding the project. The film also aims to bring one of India's most celebrated mythological stories to the big screen through large-scale production and advanced visual effects.

The combination of a popular lead actor, a familiar epic narrative and a massive production budget has helped create significant anticipation.

However, opening-day collections are only the beginning. The film's performance over the first weekend and subsequent weekdays will determine whether it can maintain its impressive momentum.

What Happens Next at the Box Office?

Breaking Animal's opening-day record is a major achievement for Ranbir Kapoor, but the bigger challenge will be sustaining audience interest throughout its theatrical run.

If Ramayana continues to attract audiences at a similar pace, it could establish several new box office benchmarks.

For now, the film has made history by surpassing one of Ranbir's biggest blockbusters within just 16 hours. All eyes are now on its final opening-day figures and the collections over the first weekend.