Rishab Shetty&rsquo;s much-awaited film Kantara Chapter 1 is all set to release in theatres on October 2, Dussehra. Serving as a prequel to the 2021 blockbuster Kantara, the film is already creating waves with its bookings.
Within just 24 hours of pre-sales opening on Sunday, the film grossed ₹5.7 crore, selling over 1.7 lakh tickets for day one alone. This remarkable pace has already surpassed the opening of the original Kantara, which had started with just ₹2 crore in 2022.
Kantara Chapter 1 is also outperforming recent big-ticket releases like Pawan Kalyan&rsquo;s OG and Hrithik Roshan&ndash;Jr NTR&rsquo;s War 2, both of which fell short of ₹5 crore advance bookings at this stage. The film&rsquo;s momentum has even outpaced Yash&rsquo;s KGF Chapter 1, once the highest-grossing Kannada film with ₹250 crore worldwide.
The prequel aims to comfortably surpass the ₹400 crore lifetime gross of Kantara, with growing demand in both Kannada and Hindi belts. Currently, ₹36 lakh in Hindi pre-sales and ₹5 lakh across Telugu, Tamil, and Malayalam have been recorded.
Directed and written by Rishab Shetty, Kantara Chapter 1 is set nearly a thousand years before the original, exploring the roots of the myth. Alongside Shetty, the cast includes Rukmini Vasanth, Jayaram, and Gulshan Devaiah. The film releases pan-India on October 2, 2025.
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Rishab Shetty’s Kantara prequel earns ₹5.7 crore in pre-sales ahead of Dussehra release

Kantara Chapter 1 Smashes Advance Booking

Rishab Shetty’s Kantara prequel earns ₹5.7 crore in pre-sales ahead of Dussehra release

September 30, 2025 | 24:00 IST