Kantara: Chapter 1 box office collection: The Rishab Shetty franchise has always been a big performer at the box office. From the Kantara debut in 2022 to a blockbuster opening day in 2025 for the prequel, the much-awaited action thriller has been praised for its visual effects and storytelling. Starring Achyuth Kumar, Pramod Shetty, Sapthami Gowda, Suchan Shetty, and Kishore Kumar G. in key roles, the 2022 film grossed Rs 407 crore worldwide throughout its theatrical run.
With an opening day of Rs 60 crore, Kantara: Chapter 1 has broken several records of the industry. Ranking among the highest openers for 2025, this Rishab Shetty film left behind L2: Empuraan and Bollywood’s Chhaava, Saiyaara, and War 2. However, it is still trumped by Rajinikanth’s Coolie and Pawan Kalyan’s OG movie.
Kantara 1 vs Kantara 2: Battle of the box office
Kantara (2022) had a Rs 2.3 crore opening day collection across all states, dominated by Karnataka. This Kannada film went on to gross nearly Rs 9 crore on its first weekend, taking the total week 1 tally to Rs 35.78 crore. However, it saw a bump in numbers, even crossing the Rs 10 crore mark on its second Sunday. After collecting nearly Rs 50 crore in Week 2, Kantara was close to entering the Rs 100 crore club, two weeks into its theatrical release.
Similarly, in the third week, the 2022 action-thriller collected nearly Rs 80 crore and continued to pick up momentum, one month after its debut on the big screen. Interestingly, this also opposes current trends where films tend to slow down over the weeks of their release; Kantara (2022) showed gradual growth over time. At the end of Week 8, the film collected Rs 8.88 crore, before retiring from the big screen.
Coming to Kantara: Chapter 1, the 2025 release collected more than Kantara’s entire first week collection on its opening day. With an advance collection of nearly Rs 20 crore, fans await yet another blockbuster from Rishab Shetty. Released under the banner of Hombale Films, it also stars Rukmini Vasanth, Gulshan Devaiah, and Jayaram in key roles.
Interestingly, the occupancy rates were consistently high across all languages, including Kannada, Tamil, Malayalam, and Telugu, unlike Kantara (2022), which grossed maximum sales from Kannada (Rs 162 crore). While Hindi became a low performer for the 2025 prequel, audiences showered the first film of the franchise with a lot of love too, which is apparent in its collections of Rs 84.77 crore.