Ramayana’s Day 9 language-wise numbers have thrown up a big surprise. The Telugu version has become the lowest-grossing version of the film, behind Malayalam, Kannada and Tamil. For a big pan-India film, that is totally unexpected.
Ramayana Day 9 Language-Wise Gross (All India Tracked)
- Hindi: ₹42.42 Cr (76.8%)
- Malayalam: ₹3.38 Cr (6.1%)
- Kannada: ₹3.36 Cr (6.1%)
- Tamil: ₹3.07 Cr (5.6%)
- Telugu: ₹3.02 Cr (5.5%)
- Total: ₹55.25 Cr
Telugu Usually Leads the South
For big-scale pan India films like this, the Telugu version is usually the second biggest after Hindi, and by a big margin. Telugu audiences have always backed grand, mythological and visual spectacles in a big way.
With Ramayana, that hasn’t happened. In the first week, the Kannada version already finished ahead of Telugu, and on Day 9, Telugu has slipped behind all three other South languages.
The Numbers Behind the Slide
The Telugu version still has the most shows among the South versions (1,756) and sells the most tickets (1.78 lakh on Day 9). But two numbers tell the real story:
Occupancy: 26.7%, the lowest of all five languages
Average ticket price: ₹169, the lowest of all five languages
The Telugu version is being given plenty of shows, but the seats are not filling up. Malayalam, with fewer than two-thirds of the shows, is running at 57% occupancy.
Why Is Telugu Underperforming?
One reason is that a large section of the Hyderabad audience prefers to watch the Hindi version. But the same is true in Chennai and Bengaluru, where Hindi-speaking audiences also choose the Hindi version, and the Tamil and Kannada versions are still doing better.
The real gap is in the core Telugu centres, where the Telugu version is clearly underperforming compared with the other South languages.
A Big Film, a Weak Spot
Ramayana is a massive success overall, with over ₹1,000 Cr worldwide. In the Telugu version, though, the film hasn’t connected the way a film of this scale usually does, and that is a surprise nobody in the trade expected.