India’s New ‘Lord of the Rings’ Replacement Officially Arrives This Week

1 week ago 25

Published Nov 1, 2026, 9:45 AM EST

Rohan Naahar is a News Writer for Collider. From Francois Ozon to David Fincher, he'll watch anything once.

He has covered everything from Marvel to the Oscars, and Marvel at the Oscars. He also writes obsessively about the box office, charting the many hits and misses that are released weekly, and how their commercial performance shapes public perception. In his time at Collider, he has also helped drive diversity by writing stories about the multiple Indian film industries, with a goal of introducing audiences to a whole new world of cinema.

In an unusual turn of events, two major international titles are set for a domestic release this week. Japan's highly anticipated Godzilla Minus Zero is expected to handily outperform an Indian heavy hitter at the North American box office, although both movies will likely debut in the top-10. Directed by Takashi Yamazaki, Godzilla Minus Zero serves as a sequel to the runaway blockbuster Godzilla Minus One, which went on to win the Best Visual Effects Oscar despite costing a fraction of its competitors. The sequel carries a similarly frugal budget, which stands in stark contrast to the Indian epic. Based on a mythological text sacred to Hindus, the film reportedly cost more than $200 million. This makes it the most expensive Indian film of all time.

The movie has been produced by the visual-effects house DNEG and is set to be followed by a second installment in a couple of years. Indian films have gradually grown in relevance at the box office, with the word-of-mouth sensation RRR having grossed more than $15 million domestically. Earlier this year, Dhurandhar: The Revenge emerged as the highest-grossing Indian film of all time in North America with a haul of nearly $30 million.

Here's When the Epic Arrives in Theaters

We're talking, of course, about Ramayana: Rise of a Legend. Directed by Nitesh Tiwari, the film stars Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Rama and Yash as the villainous demon king Ravana. The film is being released domestically by Sony in a truncated 167-minute cut, dubbed in English using generative artificial intelligence. The film's original cut runs at 195 minutes long and includes song and dance numbers typical of mainstream Indian cinema. Early reviews of Ramayana have been largely unenthusiastic, with critics calling it "terribly unexciting" and deriding its visual effects. This is the second adaptation of the Indian epic in recent years, following the critical and commercial disaster Adipurush, which was released in 2023. Ramayana will be released theatrically on November 6, only a few days ahead of the third season premiere of Prime Video's The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.