Kantara surpasses KGF 1 to become second highest-grossing Kannada film of all time

Rishab Shetty's Kantara has surpassed Yash's KGF: Chapter 1 to climb to the second spot in the list of highest-grossing Kannada films of all time.

Rishab Shetty’s Kantara has broken new ground at the box office. It has become only the third Kannada film ever to cross the ₹250-crore mark in global box office gross earnings. In the process, it has also surpassed KGF: Chapter 1 to become the second-highest-grossing Kannada film ever. Only KGF: Chapter 2 remains ahead of it now and that may be too big a mountain to climb for the film.

Rishab Shetty on a poster of Kantara.

Kantara started slowly but over time, it has generated quite a buzz through word of mouth, minting money week after week. As per trade sources, it crossed The ₹250-crore mark in global earnings on Thursday. Trade tracker Sacnilk puts its worldwide earnings at ₹251 crore now. This is slightly higher than Yash-starrer KGF: Chapter 1’s lifetime earning of ₹250 crore. In the list of highest-grossing Kannada films of all time, KGF: Chapter 2 sits pretty at the top with a massive haul of ₹1207 crore.

No matter how much business Kantara does from now on, that figure is one too far even for this film. This is still a big achievement for the film, which was made on a reported ₹15-crore budget and was not expected to even reach the ₹100-crore mark. Kantara is also among the highest grossing Indian films of 2022 in all languages. It sits at the seventh spot in that list, behind KGF 2, RRR, Ponniyin Selvan I, Vikram, Brahmastra Part One Shiva, and Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2.

Kantara is set in coastal Karnataka and is an action thriller with links to the local faith and folklore. Rishab Shetty has directed and starred in it as well. The film has received critical acclaim apart from commercial success. It is currently the highest-rated Indian film on IMDB with an impressive score of 9.4 out of 10.