The grand mythological saga, Kantara: Chapter 1, starring and directed by Rishab Shetty, is achieving unprecedented success at the worldwide box office, now exceeding Rs 600 crore. Praised by critics and adored by fans, the film stands as the second-highest-grossing Indian movie of 2025 to date. This achievement builds on the phenomenal success of the original Kantara, which was a sleeper hit, collecting Rs 400 crore on a minimal Rs 15 crore budget.
Kantara: Chapter 1’s global box office performance has been extraordinary. Following its release, the film quickly surpassed the Rs 500 crore mark and has now reached a total worldwide gross of Rs 655 crore after just 11 days, with estimates for the 12th day pointing towards Rs 675 crore. The domestic market has been exceptionally strong, with second-week collections approaching Rs 450 crore, bolstered by robust international ticket sales. Makers announced that the film garnered Rs 146 crore gross during its second weekend.
Spectacularly, the film features an immense war sequence that involved over 500 skilled warriors and 3,000 individuals. This extensive battle was filmed for nearly two months within a 25-acre recreated town set in a challenging natural environment, representing a landmark in Indian film production scale. The cast features notable performances, with Rukmini Vasanth as Kanakavathi and Gulshan Devaiah as Kulashekara, contributing to Rishab Shetty’s vision. The film’s rich technical tapestry, woven by composer B Ajaneesh Loknath, cinematographer Arvind Kashyap, and production designer Vinesh Banglan, enhances the storytelling. Kantara: Chapter 1 was released globally on October 2 in a multilingual format, including Kannada, Hindi, Telugu, Malayalam, Tamil, Bengali, and English.