Kantara Chapter 1 worldwide box office collection: Rishab Shetty‘s Kantara Chapter 1 has surpassed all expectations at the box office worldwide. The prequel to the 2022 blockbuster Kantara has started on a very strong note in India and has impressed overseas as well. This has ensured that the film has the second-best opening for any Kannada film in history.

Kantara 2 first day collection

Kantara Chapter 1, also referred to as Kantara 2, earned ₹60 crore net (around ₹72 crore gross) in India on its first day. The film has opened to packed houses in the south, registering over 70% occupancy in Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, and Malayalam. But even in the Hindi-dubbed version, Kantara Chapter 1 has done well, netting approximately ₹20 crore domestically.

Trade experts say that Kantara Chapter 1 has done well overseas too, bringing home approximately $2 million from outside India. This takes its worldwide gross after its first day in theatres to a staggering ₹90 crore. Among Kannada films, only Yash’s KGF Chapter 2 earned more ( ₹159 crore) on its opening day.

Kantara Chapter 1 beats biggies at the box office

The ₹90-crore opening has allowed Kantara Chapter 1 to leapfrog several big blockbusters from recent years. Its opening day collection now stands higher than even Stree 2 ( ₹79.60 crore), Baahubali Part 1 ( ₹73.40 crore), and Brahmastra Part One ( ₹68.80 crore). Among the big Bollywood hits of this year, none come close to Kantara Chapter 1. Chhaava, the highest-grossing Hindi film of 2025, opened at just ₹37.25 crore, while Saiyaara managed ₹29.20 crore. Yash Raj Films’ bilingual film War 2, which had the combined star power of Hrithik Roshan and Jr NTR, also lags behind Kantara Chapter 1 with an opening of ₹84.60 crore.

All about Kantara Chapter 1

Written and directed by Rishab Shetty, the original Kantara was a sleeper hit, earning over ₹400 crore worldwide on a ₹15 crore budget. The prequel – Kantara Chapter 1 – is set a thousand years before the events of the film. Apart from Rishab in the lead, the film also stars Rukmini Vasanth, Jayaram, and Gulshan Devaiah.