Rishab Shetty has made an enormous impact at the box office with his latest release, Kantara Chapter 1, which has grossed over ₹451 crores in merely a week. The buzz surrounding the film is unstoppable.
This amount positions the movie alongside glamorous hits, not too far from Gadar 2. The film was released on October 2, and ever since it has been on a record-breaking spree.
What Makes This Number So Big?
At first glance the sum of ₹451 crores, speaks volumes. The film managed to attract this huge amount from the audiences of different languages across the country. Here’s how:
- The Kannada and Hindi versions each collected over ₹100 crores
- Telugu audiences contributed ₹63.55 crores
- Tamil groups brought in more than ₹30 crores
- Malayalam viewers also added ₹26.65 crores
A linguistic distribution like this has not been commonly seen. Only the Kantara films Baahubali 2, KGF Chapter 2, RRR, and Pushpa 2 could do it before. Now Kantra Chapter 1 has also joined that elite group.
How It Stacks Up Against Gadar 2
Gadar 2 is now at the 11th place in the all-time chart with ₹525.7 crore. This indicates that Kantara Chapter 1 has to accumulate further ₹74.7 crore if it wants to get along with Gadar 2.
The disparity doesn’t look that huge when you take a look at the movie’s performance in the second week. The second Monday of the movie saw a collection of ₹13.5 crore, which is not a small figure for a weekday.
The film has already left behind some big names while climbing up. First, it went past Sultan’s ₹628 crore and then to Baahubali: The Beginning’s ₹650 crore lifetime collection. The film is currently placed at number 17 among the highest-grossing Indian films of all time.
Where Khelofun Fans Are Watching?
Khelofun aficionados have been keeping a close eye on the movie’s performance and are thus very well-informed. The figures reflect a very clear trend – the audience is craving for the narratives which have their roots in their culture.
Kantara Chapter 1 took the age-old stories and presented them in a manner that was very relatable to the modern audience. That is also the reason why it is doing great business in various states.
Moreover, the film managed to grab attention outside India as well. In just North America alone, it raked in $4 million, which is quite impressive for a regional flick. The worldwide collection surpassed ₹655 crore by the 11th day. The trade analysts are of the view that it might soon cross the 700 crore mark globally.
Breaking Down The Journey
Kantara Chapter 1 opened with ₹61.85 crore on day one. That’s a monster start. The first weekend kept the energy going with these numbers:
- Friday brought in ₹45.40 crore
- Saturday added ₹55 crore to the pile
- Sunday peaked at ₹63 crore, the biggest single day so far
After the first week, the movie had already made ₹337.4 crore. Week two started slower but still stayed strong. The second weekend saw ₹146 crore coming in. That’s when it became clear this movie wasn’t slowing down anytime soon.
What This Means For 2025
Currently, Kantara Chapter 1 ranks second among the highest-grossing films of 2025, just behind Chhaava which has grossed ₹808 crores. If the pace at which it is currently running continues, it may even take over the first position. It has already surpassed The GOAT’s total earnings in just 13 days. This is the speed that alters the whole discourse.
Many platforms have been talking a lot about these records being broken because they are indicative of the actual public taste. The film was made at a much lower budget than Sultan or Baahubali but it still created a similar impact. That’s the mark of intelligent cinematography.
The Road Ahead
Kantara Chapter 1 has to keep the pace if it aims to be Gadar 2’s rival. The ₹74.7 crore distance is not impossible to cover. Referring to other films, generally, 70-80% is the percentage of total gross that big hits make during the first two weeks of their release. This one has already bagged ₹465 crore on day 13.
If it maintains the same performance during the third week, the record of Gadar 2 might be broken at last.What distinguishes this run is the way it grabbed the audience. No outrageous advertisements or huge star casts except for Rishab Shetty. Just powerful narrative that won people’s hearts. The narrative was a mix of folk tales and the present day, making it appealing. That’s harder than it seems to be.
The first Kantara of Rishab Shetty was a success story of ₹400 crore worldwide in 2022. This prequel has already achieved that number by two times. The man is definitely knowing what works. The time as long as a millennium back to the previous film, Chapter 1 plumbs the sources of such customs. The audience was there because they were thirsty for more of that universe.
The coming weeks will reveal whether Gadar 2’s record is broken or remains intact. In any case, Kantara Chapter 1 has left its footprint already. It has shown that regional narratives can attract the attention of the whole national and international audience if packaged properly. This will be a lesson for the whole industry to observe.
