Kantara Chapter 1 outgrosses Chhaava? Rishab Shetty film stakes claim as 2025’s highest grosser of the year
Kantara Chapter 1 HGOY? There’s been no official announcement from the makers, but the PR team says ‘trust me’
Last Updated: 09.03 AM, Oct 28, 2025
On October 24, the official PR team of Kantara Chapter 1 in Karnataka sent out a poster claiming that the Rishab Shetty film is the highest grosser of the year, having outgrossed Chhaava with a Rs 818 cr worldwide gross haul, as against the Rs 809 cr of the latter. However, this was not followed by an official confirmation of the same on any social media handle of the banner, Hombale Films, so OTTplay checked in with the PR team, only to be told that there will not be such an announcement.
Kantara Chapter 1 makers to not announce HGOY status
Strange, one would think, given that getting highest grosser of the year status is a big and rather prestigious deal. Despite repeated prodding to get an official acknowledgement of these worldwide figures from the banner, the PR team stood its ground with a “trust me” response. Given that there have been instances in the past in Kannada cinema where inflated numbers were circulated and film teams later backtracked and said they’d made no such claim, it seems strange that Hombale Films does not want to own and take pride in the fact that its production is the highest grosser of the year. The last official figure that Hombale acknowledged was the Rs 717.5 cr worldwide week 2 gross.
On October 21, the PR team had claimed that Kantara Chapter 1 had amassed Rs 800 cr worldwide gross; this too remains an unsubstantiated figure by the banner. According to trade tracker Sacnilk, though, at the end of 21 days, Kantara Chapter 1 is at Rs 773.5 cr gross. Close to Rs 200 cr of this has come from Karnataka, where there is currently a stay on the government’s ticket cap. Hombale Films is one of the parties that has opposed the government order. The Karnataka High Court has repeatedly urged exhibitors to maintain records of tickets sold for refund purpose, if the ongoing case goes in favour of the government.
Meanwhile, Kantara Chapter 1 is headed to OTT on October 31. Amazon Prime Video, the exclusive streaming partner of the film will have the Kannada, Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam versions out on the day, with Hindi set to follow later, after the 8-week mark.
*Catch Kantara Chapter 1 and other exciting titles with Amazon Prime Video lite on OTTplay with a top-up subscription.
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 31, 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.