Nitesh Tiwari's Ramayana: Part One will arrive on JioHotstar under a pay-per-view model after its theatrical run, according to a Sacnilk report from October 22, 2026, cited by BusinessToday. The reported driver of the deal is a digital and satellite rights package worth about $47 million with Star Group — a figure that, if confirmed, would make it the biggest post-theatrical rights deal in Indian cinema. The figure has not been independently confirmed by the makers.
The reported $47 million streaming pact
Under the reported arrangement, viewers in India will be able to buy digital access to the film separately on JioHotstar once its exclusive cinema window closes, rather than watching it as part of a regular subscription. Exact pricing and the length of the theatrical window have not been announced. Trade analysts reported the deal on October 22, 2026, noting the filmmakers had earlier walked away from a flat buyout offer in favor of the pay-per-view structure — a choice that would set a new valuation benchmark for Indian films.
The film stars Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Rama, Sai Pallavi as Goddess Sita and Yash as Ravana, with Sunny Deol as Hanuman and Ravie Dubey as Lakshman. It is directed by Nitesh Tiwari, produced by Namit Malhotra's Prime Focus Studios with Yash's Monster Mind Creations, with music by Hans Zimmer and A. R. Rahman. Ramayana: Part One releases theatrically worldwide on November 5, 2026, during Diwali, with a second part planned for Diwali 2027.
Why pay-per-view is a big bet
The model is still untested for a Bollywood blockbuster of this scale. Paid digital premieres have yet to become mainstream for major Indian releases, so the JioHotstar rollout will test whether Indian audiences will pay separately for a title that arrived just weeks earlier in theaters. The ceiling for comparison: Kalki 2898 AD reportedly commanded about $39 million in digital rights, RRR about $34 million and KGF: Chapter 2 about $34 million — all below the figure reported for Ramayana.
The stakes are rising across the Diwali corridor. Ranveer Singh's Dhurandhar 2: The Revenge has reportedly locked a non-theatrical package worth about $26 million, according to Pinkvilla — roughly $16 million for JioHotstar digital rights, $5.3 million for Star Network satellite rights and $4.7 million for T-Series music rights. Two epic-scale releases are now leaning on pre-release rights to recover massive investments before a single ticket is sold.
Advance bookings signal a mega opening
Theatrical demand is already surging. Sacnilk reported on October 22 that Ramayana: Part One had sold more than 1.26 lakh tickets across 3,707 shows in 104 cities for its November 5 opening day, for an advance gross of about $750,000. The advance window opened on Dussehra, October 20, giving audiences more than two weeks to book. Overseas pre-sales had already crossed $1.3 million across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia, per Films Discourse, with Sony Pictures International handling the international rollout.
Eight opening-day shows were already houseful by the morning of October 22, and premium appetite is strong: select IMAX screenings in Mumbai sold out despite tickets priced as high as $29. The international trailer, launched in Bengaluru on October 15, has been feeding the buzz.
Music in this post's reel: Kevin MacLeod - Silly Fun (incompetech.com), licensed under CC BY 3.0
The takeaway
Whether or not the $47 million figure is confirmed, the structure of the deal is the story: Ramayana: Part One is being positioned as a pay-per-view event even on streaming, a first-of-its-kind experiment for Hindi cinema. With the Diwali release two weeks away and advance bookings running hot, the film is testing whether Indian mythological spectacle can command record post-theatrical prices — and whether audiences will pay a la carte for it. The rest of the industry is watching.
Sources
- BusinessToday — Ramayana to stream on JioHotstar under pay-per-view model after theatrical run (Oct 23, 2026)
- Sacnilk — Ramayana bags reported digital and satellite rights deal (Oct 22, 2026)
- BusinessToday — Ramayana advance booking crosses 1.25 lakh tickets (Oct 22, 2026)
- Telegraph India — New Ramayana Part One trailer (Oct 15, 2026)