Rishab Shetty’s ‘Kantara: Chapter 1’ has defied all odds, maintaining a strong theatrical run even after more than a month in cinemas. Despite facing competition from big releases like ‘Baahubali: The Epic’, ‘Thamma’, ‘Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat’ and ‘The Taj Story’, the film continues to draw audiences to theatres. Interestingly, even after its OTT premiere on October 31, ‘Kantara: Chapter 1’ has managed to retain screens and steady footfalls — a rarity in today’s post-digital release era.A few days ago, the Rishab Shetty directorial not only surpassed Vicky Kaushal’s ‘Chhaava’ at the domestic box office but also overtook its global earnings. With a staggering ₹832.42 crore worldwide in just 33 days, including ₹110.50 crore from overseas markets, it has now become the highest-grossing Indian film globally in 2025. It also stands as the second-highest-grossing Kannada film of all time, trailing only behind ‘KGF: Chapter 2’.On the home front, the film maintained its momentum into Week 5 — collecting ₹1.85 crore on Friday, ₹3.6 crore on Saturday, and ₹3.65 crore on Sunday. Its fifth Monday brought in around ₹1 crore, followed by ₹1.15 crore each on Tuesday and Wednesday. Week 4 wrapped up with ₹37.6 crore, marking just over a 52% dip from the prior week, which is still commendable for a film in its fourth weekend. During its fifth weekend, ‘Kantara: Chapter 1’ added another ₹7 crore, before experiencing a gradual slowdown — ₹1 crore on day 32 (Monday), ₹1.3 crore on Tuesday, ₹1.25 crore on day 35 (Wednesday), and finally ₹0.65 crore on Thursday.With this, the film’s domestic total has reached ₹615 crore, surpassing ‘Chhaava’ (₹601 crore), as per Sacnilk. Despite its OTT availability, ‘Kantara: Chapter 1’ continues to perform remarkably well in theatres — a testament to its strong audience connect and word-of-mouth power. The film now sits just below ‘KGF: Chapter 2’, which had recorded a massive ₹859 crore India nett.
