Rishab Shetty has done it again. After his breakout film with the first Kantara film in 2022, he is back with even more. His most recent film, Kantara Chapter 1, has crossed the mark of ₹300 crores in worldwide gross in just four days – and no, this is not a typo, four days.
What Were the Numbers that Made Everyone Look Twice
The film started off on October 2 with a blockbuster $88 crores on opening day. It dipped slightly to ₹65 crore on the following Friday, came back up to ₹82 crore on Saturday, and ended with ₹61.5 crore on Sunday to total worldwide grosses of over ₹325 crore.
Here’s what the four-day haul looked like across different markets :
- Opening day netted ₹61.85 crore in the homeland
- Day two pulled in ₹54.4 crore despite being a working day
- Saturday jumped to ₹55 crore with that weekend energy
- Sunday closed strong at ₹61.5 crore
The total collection from these four days stands at ₹223.25 crore net in the country. When you add taxes, that becomes ₹268 crore gross. Overseas markets chipped in another $6 million, which is around ₹40 crore.
Breaking Old Records Left and Right
This film didn’t just do well – it obliterated records that people thought would stand for years. Kantara Chapter 1 is now the title holder of the third biggest opening day (₹67 crore+) on Jan 2, 2025. And it smashed through the records of some serious titles!
The film crossed Vicky Kaushal’s Chhaava, which made ₹52 crore, on its opening day (Jan 2, 2025). Even They Call Him OG couldn’t keep up. But it gets better … it overtook the lifetime collection of KGF Chapter 1.
For people who have followed the KGF series, that’s news. KGF Chapter 1 total more than ₹185 crore lifetime in the country, and Kantara Chapter 1 surpassed that in its opening weekend. It currently sits third as the highest Kannada film ever made (trailing KGF Chapter 2 and the original Kantara).
What Connected to This Film?
This film is a prequel that takes place before the events of the Kantara film in 2022. Rishab Shetty has written, directed, and stars in the film. The story goes deep into the Bhoota Kola culture of Karnataka, which is an ancient tradition.
People connected to that level of culture! In the Kannada version, 98-99% filled their afternoon/evening theatres throughout the country of Karnataka. That’s really all seats taken!
The cast includes Rukmini Vasanth, Jayaram, and Gulshan Devaiah alongside Shetty. Over 5.78 million tickets got sold through BookMyShow alone. Even big names from the film world praised it for keeping the cultural elements real.
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How It Stacks Up Against 2025 Releases
Considering the other releases during the year, Kantara Chapter 1 is now on another level compared to the other releases. It became the highest grossing Kannada film of 2025 even in the second day. In fact, it crossed ₹100 crore in just two days of its release, which is the fastest Kannada film to do so this year.
Even its entire lifetime numbers broke other big releases. Sikandar, for example, made ₹176 crore total, and Gangubai Kathiawadi made ₹210 crore. Both films’ lifetime numbers were easily surpassed in just 3 days of release.
And talking about opening weekends, it became the second highest opening weekend for a Kannada film. Only KGF Chapter 2’s ₹380 crore domestic opening weekend sits above it. And if you follow cricket or frequent Khelofun to view their popular culture, this is the type of record-breaking moment everyone mentions.
Where The Film Goes From Here
Monday brought in ₹3.17 crore by 2 PM, showing that the film still has strong legs. The overall collection reached ₹226.92 crore by then. While weekday numbers usually drop compared to weekends, this film seems to be holding steady.
What makes this run even more interesting is how it performed in different regions. Maharashtra and southern markets showed the strongest response. The reach stayed more regional compared to pan-country films like Baahubali or Pushpa.
Still, for a film rooted in such specific cultural traditions, these numbers show that good stories travel. The film proved you don’t need to water down local flavor to make big numbers happen.
The makers already announced plans for a third part in the series. But Rishab Shetty has other things lined up first, including a film with Prashanth Verma and a project about Shivaji Maharaj.
For now though, Kantara Chapter 1 is still running in halls and adding to its total every day. Whether it reaches the lifetime numbers of KGF Chapter 2 or the original Kantara remains to be seen. But one thing’s clear — this film already made its mark in a big way.
