The advance booking of Ramayana, starring Ranbir Kapoor, Yash and Sai Pallavi, was scheduled to open today, October 20, on the auspicious occasion of Dussehra. However, as of 9:30 am, barely any cinemas across the country had opened bookings for the much-awaited film. Bollywood Hungama has learned that a disagreement between distributors and exhibitors over revenue-sharing terms is said to be one of the reasons behind the delay.

A trade source told Bollywood Hungama, “Usually, for big films, the distributor’s share is 52.5% in Week 1, 45% in Week 2 and 37.5% in Week 3. But the distributors of Ramayana are reportedly demanding a 60% revenue share in the first week, 50% in the second week and 40% in the third week. This is significantly higher than the usual sharing terms followed for big-budget films. As a result, exhibitors, who are understandably concerned, are reluctant to agree to these terms and negotiations are currently underway.”

The source continued, “Unless both parties arrive at a mutually acceptable agreement, the advance booking could get delayed. Everyone is keen to release Ramayana on a grand scale, but there has to be mutual consensus when it comes to commercial terms.”

It remains to be seen whether the two sides can resolve their differences soon and ensure that advance bookings begin across the country. As of 9:30 am, INOX Korum Mall in Thane is the only cinema in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region to have opened bookings for Ramayana. Another prominent multiplex where advance bookings have commenced is AMB Cinemas Kapali in Bengaluru.

Ramayana is scheduled to release worldwide on November 5.

Also Read: Ramayana advance bookings to open on Dussehra ahead of November 5 theatrical release