2025 Box Office: Will Kantara: Chapter 1 Deliver the First Rs. 1000 Crore Grosser?
The year 2025 has been strong for Indian cinema with multiple blockbusters across languages, yet the elusive Rs. 1000 crore milestone remains unbroken.
Big-ticket films like Chhaava and Saiyaara dominated the Hindi box office, each grossing over Rs. 500 crores worldwide. The animated spectacle Mahavatar Narsimha is inching close to the Rs. 300 crore mark, while Sitaare Zameen Par, Sankranthiki Vasthunam, and Empuraan joined the elite club of Rs. 250 crore+ grossers.
However, the much-hyped Coolie and War 2—once touted as potential four-digit grossers—underperformed and are now heading towards losses. With Prabhas’ The Raja Saab targeting Sankranthi 2026, only one film stands tall with a realistic chance of touching the magical mark this year: Kantara: Chapter 1.
Directed by and starring Rishab Shetty, this mythological action drama also features Rukmini Vasanth and Gulshan Devaiah in key roles. Scheduled for a grand release on October 2, the film carries sky-high expectations across all major languages. For perspective, the original Kantara earned over Rs. 80 crores nett in Hindi alone, a staggering achievement for a Kannada film.
History suggests that sequels and franchise films have ignited the Hindi and pan-India box office — examples include Pushpa 2: The Rule, Stree 2, and KGF 2. Although Kantara: Chapter 1 is technically a prequel, its scale, mythological depth, and cultural appeal give it the potential to be 2025’s biggest money-spinner.
The question now remains:
Can Rishab Shetty deliver India’s first Rs. 1000 crore grosser of 2025, or will this year close without a four-digit blockbuster?
