Rishab Shetty's Kantara Chapter 1 has taken the box office by storm, crossing the Rs 200 crore mark worldwide within just four days of release. The Kannada period action film earned a domestic net collection of Rs 162.85 crore over its first three days, with a significant Rs 55 crore collected on Saturday alone, marking it as the highest first Saturday collection of 2025.
The film opened on Dussehra with Rs 61.85 crore, followed by Rs 46 crore on Friday. By Sunday evening, the total domestic gross nearly touched Rs 199 crore, fueled by strong occupancy rates of up to 94 percent for the Kannada version in Karnataka. The Hindi version of the film also performed well, contributing over Rs 40 crore in India.
Internationally, Kantara Chapter 1 earned over $3 million (around Rs 22 crore) in its initial days, pushing its worldwide gross to approximately Rs 225 crore. This milestone has allowed it to surpass the lifetime collections of several major releases, including Salman Khan’s Sikandar, Ram Charan’s Game Changer, and Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Gangubai Kathiawadi.
Serving as a prequel set a thousand years before the events of the original Kantara, the film dives into deep cultural and spiritual themes. Rishab Shetty wrote, directed, and played the lead role, with supporting performances by Rukmini Vasanth, Jayaram, and Gulshan Devaiah.
Adding to its accolades, Kantara Chapter 1 is scheduled for a special screening at Rashtrapati Bhavan, underscoring its cultural significance. With unprecedented box office success and widespread acclaim, the film has solidified its place as a landmark in Indian regional cinema.
