Kantara Chapter 1 box office: Rishab Shetty film now eyeing Chhaava record to become highest grosser of 2025

There is no doubt now that Kantara Chapter 1 will emerge as the highest grossing Indian film of 2025 over the next few days. In only 11 days at the worldwide box office, Rishab Shetty’s Kantara prequel has already outdone Saiyaara and is currently sitting pretty at second place, not far behind Chhaava (Rs 810 cr). As far as highest grossing Indian films ever goes, Kantara Chapter 1 has broken into the top 20 and is currently placed at number 17, with films like Gadar 2, PK, Secret Superstar, Stree 2, Bajrangi Bhaijaan, Animal, still ahead of it in the under Rs 1,000 cr box office segment. Interestingly, all the films currently ahead of Kantara Chapter 1 that had sub Rs 1,000 lifetime worldwide gross collections were Hindi originals, with no dubbed versions.

Kantara Chapter 1: Highest grossing film in Karnataka

At the end of its second weekend at the global box office, Kantara had made a whopping Rs 655 cr gross, Rs 191 cr of which came from home ground in Karnataka, bettering the record held by 2022’s Kantara (Rs 183.6 cr) as well as KGF: Chapter 2 (Rs 182.9 cr). This, even though, Kantara Chapter 1’s second weekend was not as strong as the first. The film’s second weekend net peaked at just under Rs 40 cr, vis a vis its first Sunday’s (Rs 63 cr).

As far as highest grossing films from Karnataka go, Kantara Chapter 1 only has KGF: Chapter 2 ahead of it, but there’s a rather vast gap there, what with Yash’s film having amassed Rs 1250 cr. Kantara Chapter 1’s long-term predictions have it ending its theatrical run close to the 4-figure number, but with its impending October end OTT outing, getting there may not be easy. Unlike KGF-Chapter 2, which benefited a great deal from its Hindi dubbed version, with Kantara Chapter 1, the Kannada original is doing the heavy lifting, which, the Hindi version has only matched so far.

Also read: Kantara Chapter 1 movie review: Rishab Shetty goes all out in grand but bland sequel

While the Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam versions have outdone Kantara’s box office net figures, they are still way behind what KGF-2 got (Telugu: Rs 137 cr, Tamil: Rs 117 cr, Malayalam: Rs 65 cr) in these markets. Kantara Chapter 1’s current box office break up, after 12 days has Kannada at Rs 142.7 cr, Telugu Rs 78.15 cr, Hindi at Rs 149.25 cr, Tamil Rs 46 cr and Malayalam at Rs 35.8 cr.

FAQs

Q. Are Kantara and Kantara: Chapter 1 the same?

A. No, they are separate films in the same franchise, both written and directed by Rishab Shetty. Kantara released in 2022, while Kantara: Chapter 1 hit theatres on October 2, 2025. Chapter 1 is the prequel of the original film and explores the origins of daivaradhane in the Tulunadu region.

Q. What is the run-time of Kantara Chapter 1?

A. Kantara Chapter is 2 hours and 47 minutes in total run-time.

Q. Where can one watch Kantara Chapter 1?

A. Kantara Chapter 1 hit theatres across the world on October 2, 2025. Subsequently, it will head to Amazon Prime Video on October 30, 2025, in Kannada, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam.

Q. Whose avatar is Panjurli Daiva?

A. Panjurli Daiva is considered an avatar of Lord Vishnu in his Varaha incarnation. Panjurli, according to folklore, was a wild boar, who was slain by Lord Shiva and then revived to become a divine protector.