Rishab Shetty’s directorial and starring venture, Kantara: Chapter 1, has taken the Indian film industry by storm. Within just four days of release, the film has smashed an impressive ₹223.75 crore as its India net collection with a worldwide collection of ₹308 crore, cementing its status as one of the highest-grossing Kannada films of all time. This unprecedented box-office triumph of the Hombale Films-produced movie has made a major talking point among audiences and critics alike.
Rapid Rise Across India
The film’s momentum has been extraordinary, with day-wise collections reflecting its growing popularity among the masses across all regions of India. According to Sacnilk data, Kantara: Chapter 1 earned ₹61.85 crore on its opening day, followed by ₹45.4 crore on day two. The collection surged to ₹55 crore on day three and concluded its fourth day with ₹61.5 crore, underscoring the strong word-of-mouth and audience pull the film has generated.
Surpassing Blockbuster Contemporaries
Kantara: Chapter 1 has also managed to outperform several notable releases in terms of domestic collections. It has overtaken this year’s films of superstars like Pawan Kalyan’s They Call Him OG (₹183 crore) and Aamir Khan’s Sitaare Zameen Par (₹167.46 crore), showcasing its pan-India craze. As of now, according to worldwide collection too, Shetty’s magnum opus is the sixth-highest-grossing Indian film of this year, the fourth-highest-grossing Kannada film of all time and the second-highest-grossing Kannada film of 2025. According to trade experts, this film is expected to be the highest-grossing Kannada film of 2025, surpassing the animated movie, another Hombale Films presentation, Mahavatar Narsimha (₹326.65 crore), and it is also expected to cross the lifetime collection of the 2022-released first film in this franchise, Kantara (₹407.82 crore). Eventually, it will successfully become the second-highest-grossing Kannada film of all time, only after another 2022-released franchise film, K.G.F: Chapter 2 (₹1215 crore), also produced by Hombale Films.
Pan-India Appeal
The film’s success is not limited to Karnataka. It has achieved impressive occupancy rates across multiple languages: 90.59% in Kannada, 71.37% in Telugu, 80.90% in Tamil, 77.82% in Malayalam, and 38.90% in Hindi (North). Such widespread acceptance highlights the universal resonance of the film’s compelling story and stellar performances.
Kantara: Chapter 1, also starring Rukmini Vasanth, Jayaram and Gulshan Devaiah in important roles, has set a new benchmark for Kannada and for Indian cinema. As it continues its theatrical run, the film is poised to enter the ₹300 crore club very soon, firmly establishing Rishab Shetty’s vision and craft for another time as a true pan-India blockbuster.
