Rishab Shetty’s Kantara Chapter 1, the much-awaited sequel of the 2022 blockbuster, opened on a huge note. Released on Gandhi Jayanti, the film earned a mammoth Rs 60 crore in India only on its opening day, indicating its huge popularity among audiences. The first Kantara had been a word-of-mouth hit, starting with a humble Rs 2 crore on opening day before going on to gross more than Rs 309 crore domestically and Rs 407 crore globally.
The second was released in several languages, such as Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, and Malayalam, with more than 8,800 shows booked across the country. Region-wise performance, Kantara Chapter 1 witnessed high occupancies, especially in Kannada, when it had 1,500 shows with a whopping 88% occupancy. Hindi fared a bit poor with approximately 4,700 shows, with an occupancy of 30%. Telugu, Tamil, and Malayalam dubs were also doing well, and Telugu and Tamil registered more than 70% occupancy, whereas Malayalam had around 65%.
The opening of the film is impressive, even in comparison with some of the largest releases of recent times. Kantara Chapter 1’s Rs 60 crore first-day collection is comparable to that of Rajinikanth’s Coolie, which had collected Rs 65 crore on its first day. It fell short by a little bit of Pawan Kalyan’s They Call Him OG, which collected Rs 63 crore on its first day.
This release follows the huge success of Mahavatar Narsimha, another Hombale Films production, which collected Rs 250 crore in India and Rs 325 crore worldwide. The success of Kantara Chapter 1 is a proof of the increasing popularity of regional cinema with its enthralling plot and mesmerizing performances.
Off-camera, Kantara Chapter 1 had to overcome its share of hurdles. The movie has been plagued by various accidents on set, some of which involve director Rishab Shetty and the other crew members in a boat accident, as well as a bus crash in 2024. Fortunately, there were no deaths, although injuries resulted from the accidents. The movie also lost three artists, with actor Rakesh Poojary deceased after the shooting for the film had completed. Rishab Shetty reminisced about such losses, describing the emotional burden it had on the team but highlighting the fact that these accidents had nothing to do with the production.
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In spite of the behind-the-scenes issues, Kantara Chapter 1 has taken the box office by storm, becoming another behemoth milestone for the franchise. The strong opening of the sequel sets high hopes for its sustained success over the next few weeks.
