Rishab Shetty’s ‘Kantara: Chapter 1’ is heading to OTT on October 31, 2025, just four weeks after its theatrical debut. Hombale Films clarified this early release for South Indian languages is due to a three-year-old agreement, while the Hindi version will follow an eight-week window. Producers anticipate minimal impact on box office earnings.
Rishab Shetty’s Kantara: Chapter 1 is set to arrive on OTT after a massively successful run at the box office. The makers recently announced that the film will begin streaming on October 31, 2025. However, with the movie still performing well in theatres and drawing steady crowds, many have been wondering why it’s heading to OTT so soon. Now, a partner from the production house has cleared the air.
Why is Kantara: Chapter 1 releasing on OTT just four weeks after its theatrical run?
The producer added that a shorter OTT window has now become common practice in the South Indian film industry. “Before COVID, it used to be eight weeks for all films. Post-COVID, even big releases like Coolie are arriving on OTT after four weeks across all languages, including Hindi. These decisions are taken on a case-by-case basis, depending on what’s working at the time,” he said.
Impact on box office numbers
Gowda also addressed concerns about the film’s box office performance following its OTT release. He expressed confidence that Kantara: Chapter 1 will continue to perform well, saying, “We expect it to keep doing well even after its digital release. The variation might only be around 10–15% at most.”
More about the film
A prequel to the 2022 blockbuster Kantara, the film stars Rishab Shetty, Rukmini Vasanth, Jayaram, and Gulshan Devaiah. It was released in theatres on October 2, 2025, and has already earned over Rs 800 crore worldwide.
