India, Oct. 30 -- Kantara Chapter 1 would be the film to break into the Rs 1,000 crore club in 2025 - that's what pretty much everyone thought before the Rishab Shetty film hit theatres. The 2022 original Kantara had, after all, made over Rs 400 cr, after beginning its theatrical run as a rooted story from Karnataka with a Kannada version only, which then went on to take on a life of its own as demand rose from other markets. The film had performed better than KGF: Chapter 1, so, expectations were high about the next instalment in the saga, which was bigger in scale, visual aesthetics and story-telling. What was the payout?

Kantara Chapter 1, according to independent tracking site Sacnilk, became the highest grossing film of 2025, in its...