Two of 2026’s biggest Bollywood releases sit on opposite ends of the content spectrum. Ranveer Singh’s Dhurandhar 2: The Revenge carries an ‘A’ certificate, a near four-hour runtime, and a body count that international critics have called “too much”. Ranbir Kapoor’s Ramayana – Part I arrived with a clean ‘U’ certificate, zero CBFC cuts, and a Diwali-weekend release designed to pull in every generation of the family.
The family film lost the opening-day fight by a wide margin. Dhurandhar 2 collected ₹102.55 crore in India net on its first day. Ramayana opened at ₹64.85 crore India net — a ₹37.70 crore gap. The blood-soaked spy thriller beat the mythological family epic at its own game: putting people in seats.
The Opening-Day Numbers That Matter
Dhurandhar 2 released on March 19, 2026, and its opening figure came with an extra cushion. Paid previews on March 18 added ₹43 crore India net before Day 1 even began, pushing its domestic total across the preview-plus-opening window to ₹145.55 crore. The worldwide opening gross, including previews, landed around ₹226.60 crore.
Ramayana released on November 5, 2026, and its Day 1 spread across 25,200 shows in multiple languages. The Hindi version alone contributed ₹47.50 crore net from 20,678 shows, while the Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, and Malayalam versions added smaller slices. Its worldwide opening-day gross stood at ₹121.62 crore, less than half of Dhurandhar 2’s opening-day worldwide figure when previews are counted.
| Film | India Net Day 1 | Worldwide Gross Day 1 | Opening-Day Rank in 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dhurandhar 2 | ₹102.55 cr | ~₹226.60 cr (with previews) | No. 1 |
| Ramayana | ₹64.85 cr | ₹121.62 cr | No. 2 |
The gap is not a small one. Ramayana became the second-biggest opener of 2026, but the distance to the top spot was ₹37.70 crore in India net alone.
One Is a Family Epic, the Other Is an ‘A’ Rated Bloodbath
Ramayana received a ‘U’ certificate from the Central Board of Film Certification on October 30, 2026, with no audio or visual cuts and a runtime of 195 minutes. The ‘U’ rating means the film is cleared for unrestricted public viewing across all age groups in India. Internationally, it was rated PG-13 in North America, which still allows families with older children to attend together.
Dhurandhar 2 was certified ‘A’ (Adults Only) on March 17, 2026, with the CBFC citing “strong bloody violence and graphic action” as the reason. The board ordered 21 modifications, including trimming or removing four major scenes of graphic violence, one of which involved a beheading. The Irish Censor Board gave it an 18 rating for “intense injury detail and brief mild nudity”. The theatrical runtime ran 3 hours and 49 minutes.
The content contrast could not be sharper. One film was built for grandparents, parents, and children to watch together during the Diwali holiday. The other was built for adults who wanted to see Ranveer Singh weaponize syringes, machetes, and spiked balls in what one actor-politician described as a “visual handbook” of creative violence.
Why the Adult Film Won the Opening Day
Three factors explain the gap without requiring speculation.
First, Dhurandhar 2 arrived as a sequel to a hit. The first Dhurandhar released in December 2025 and drew a divided response, but it built a loyal audience that showed up in force for the follow-up. Advance bookings for the sequel were record-breaking before release, with paid previews alone pulling in ₹43 crore net. The brand was already established.
Second, the ‘A’ rating did not shrink the audience in the way a family-friendly rating can shrink an adult audience. An adult-only film in India cannot sell tickets to children, but it can sell multiple tickets to adults who are not looking for a family outing. The opening-day audience for Dhurandhar 2 was self-selecting: people who wanted exactly the kind of film the CBFC described. Strong word-of-mouth among that adult audience pushed the film to an IMDb rating of 8.7 and a BookMyShow user rating of 9.5 based on over 277,000 votes.
Third, the release window worked in Dhurandhar 2’s favor in a way Ramayana’s Diwali slot did not. Ramayana released on November 5, but Diwali fell on November 8, 2026. Daytime theatre footfall on Diwali day is historically limited because families are occupied with gatherings and Lakshmi Puja. The film still drew families in large numbers across the extended holiday weekend, but the opening-day ceiling was lower than a non-festival date would have allowed. Dhurandhar 2 opened on a regular Thursday in March, with no festival competing for the audience’s attention.
The ‘A’ Rating Was Not a Dealbreaker for the Core Audience
International critics were harsh. The New York Times wrote that the sequel “further desensitizes viewers to violence along national or religious lines”. Another outlet wrote: “When you have an entire cinema wincing and covering their eyes at violence upon violence, your movie is too much”. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film held a 45% score from 13 reviews at the time of release.
Indian audiences largely ignored those reviews. One fan review quoted by NDTV said, “Bigger, darker, deadlier. This one HITS HARD..! A cinematic spectacle packed with high moments, brutal action and whistle-worthy scenes”. The same report noted that while some viewers pointed to “higher violence and a more detailed focus on intelligence over action,” the overall sentiment remained “strongly positive”.
Actor-politician Ramya Spandana offered the most direct criticism from within India, writing on X: “And the violence!!! This isn’t a movie, it’s basically a visual handbook (one that absolutely should not exist) on how creatively violent you can get with literally any object lying around”. Her review went viral, but it did not dent the opening-day turnout.
Budget and Return on Investment Tell a Different Story
Opening-day gross is only one measure. When budget enters the picture, the contrast between the two films becomes even more stark.
Dhurandhar 2 was produced on a reported budget of ₹225 crore. Against that budget, its ₹102.55 crore India net opening recovered nearly 46% of the production cost on Day 1 alone. By the end of its theatrical run, the film generated a reported profit of over ₹950 crore, translating to a return on investment above 420%.
Ramayana is a two-part project with a combined reported budget of ₹4,000 crore for both films. The first part’s ₹64.85 crore India net opening represents a much smaller fraction of its investment. The film crossed ₹412.77 crore worldwide in four days, entering 2026’s top five global grossers, but it still sits behind Dhurandhar 2’s ₹1,852.44 crore lifetime worldwide haul.
Dhurandhar 2 remains the highest-grossing Bollywood film of 2026 worldwide. Ramayana is fifth.
Where Both Films Stand Now
Dhurandhar 2 finished its theatrical run and moved to streaming. The “Raw and Undekha” version premiered on JioHotstar on June 4, 2026, with the full film arriving on the platform on June 5. Netflix began streaming the film internationally on May 14, 2026.
Ramayana – Part I is still in theatres. The film released worldwide on November 5, 2026, in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam. Its worldwide gross crossed ₹412.77 crore by November 9, with 38.26% of that figure coming from overseas markets — a higher international share than Dhurandhar 2’s top-ranked total. Part 2 is scheduled for release during Diwali 2027.
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A Simple Takeaway From Two Very Different Films
An ‘A’ rating did not stop Dhurandhar 2 from becoming the biggest opener of 2026. A ‘U’ rating did not push Ramayana past it on Day 1. The adult film sold more tickets on opening day because it arrived as a sequel to a known property, opened on a date without a major festival competing for attention, and delivered exactly what its core audience wanted — even if international critics found that offering excessive.
Also Read: Ramayana OTT Release: Where to Catch Ranbir Kapoor and Yash’s Epic After Its Theatrical Run
Both films remain in the 2026 box-office conversation for different reasons: one for what it earned against its budget, the other for what it is still earning across the Diwali window. Keep checking VvipTimes for box-office updates and streaming dates as they are confirmed.
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