Ramayana: the cultural epic with major global appeal.

This November, Ramayana will bring one of India’s most revered stories to the big screen with the scale of a major global release. Positioned as the defining Indian release of the Diwali holiday season, the film marks the first instalment in a two-part epic, with the story set to continue in 2027.

Ramayana is an ancient Indian epic that has endured for thousands of years, following a young prince and princess whose marriage and subsequent exile begin a legendary journey shaped by love, duty and destiny. For moviegoers drawn to the mythology, world-building and spectacle of The Odyssey, Ramayana brings another of the world’s great ancient epics to the modern big screen, combining deep cultural significance with universal themes and blockbuster spectacle designed to resonate with audiences around the world.

Few Indian films have ever been mounted with this level of investment and creative firepower. Filmed for IMAX, Ramayana carries a combined budget of around $500 million USD across both films, making it the most expensive Indian film production ever undertaken. Hans Zimmer’s involvement in the score further signals its global ambitions, bringing one of Hollywood’s most recognisable composers into Indian cinema for the first time. That ambition is already being matched by audience demand, with Ramayana amassing more than one billion trailer views in its first week to become the biggest Indian trailer of all time and the first to cross the one billion mark.

For brands, this creates a rare audience opportunity. Ramayana combines deep cultural relevance among Indian and broader culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities with the action, spectacle and premium cinema experience that appeals to young, affluent male audiences and mainstream moviegoers. As appetite for large-scale ancient epics grows, Ramayana is set to become a global cinema event brands can’t afford to miss.