Kantara soars past ₹200 crore worldwide, beats KGF Chapter 2 to become most-watched film ever in Karnataka

Kantara has grossed over ₹200 crore at the box office globally, and has also beaten KGF: Chapter 2 in terms of total footfalls in the state of Karnataka.

Rishab Shetty’s Kantara is continuing to break box office records even almost a month after its release. Over the course of Diwali holidays, the Kannada film crossed the ₹200-crore barrier in terms of gross worldwide collections. It is only the third Kannada film ever to do so. More impressive has been its feat in the state of Karnataka, where it has managed to register the highest footfalls for any film ever, beating both the KGF films.

Rishab Shetty in a still from Kantara.

Kantara, directed by Rishab Shetty and starring the filmmaker himself, is a tale set in coastal Karnataka that blends a story about land grabbing and man vs nature with local belief and folk systems. The film has been a monumental success in Karnataka and its dubbed versions in Hindi and Telugu have also minted money.

As per trade tracker Sacnilk, by October 24, Kantara had grossed ₹211.5 crore worldwide. This includes a gross of ₹196.95 crore from India alone. The film’s Hindi dubbed version has earned ₹24 crore and the Telugu one just under ₹23 crore in just over ten days of release. With this figure, it is now only behind KGF: Chapter 2 ( ₹1207 crore) and KGF: Chapter 1 ( ₹250 crore) in the list of highest-grossing Kannada films of all time. What’s noteworthy is that Kantara is still doing well at the box office. On October 23, its 25th day, it earned over ₹8 crore nett across India in all languages. Going by this, it may just move past KGF 1 into second place by the end of its run.

It has, however, surpassed both the KGF films on one parameter. A separate Sacnilk report states that the film is now the most-watched Kannada film of all time. Even as KGF: Chapter 2 earned more money in the state, Kantara has sold more tickets. As of October 24, Kantara has sold 77 lakh tickets in Karnataka alone, as compared to 75 lakh and 72 lakh for KGF 2 and KGF 1 respectively. Trade analysts are predicting the film may end up seeing over a crore footfalls in Karnataka alone.

Kantara is also one of the highest-grossing Indian films of the year. It currently sits at the eighth spot in the list, behind only KGF 2, RRR, Ponniyin Selvan I, Brahmastra, Vikram, The Kashmir Files, and Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2, and ahead of Gangubai Kathiawadi and Valimai.