Director-star Rishab Shetty's blockbuster prequel film, Kantara: Chapter 1, has been on a rampage at the box office. The movie, which serves as a prequel to Shetty's 2022 word of mouth hit Kantara, has crossed the Rs 500 crore mark at the worldwide box office, after having completed a full week of release in theatres. Domestically, the film was positioned as a pan-Indian tent pole, and has emerged as the rare hit that was built as a pan-India vehicle from the ground up. In fact, Kantara: Chapter 1 has made more in the Hindi-language version than it has through the original Kannada-language version. According to industry tracker Sacnilk, Kantara: Chapter 1 made Rs 20 crore across India on day eight, which marks its lowest single-day haul yet. It's remarkable, however, that the film is still earning in double-digits. It will likely witness another spike in earnings over the weekend, and pass the Rs 400 crore mark at the domestic box office. The film's current India haul stands at Rs 335 crore. Of this total, more than Rs 100 crore has come only from the Hindi dubbed version. The new Kantara film is witnessing the sort of increase in viewership that was last seen with Baahubali 2: The Conclusion, which broke out in the Hindi-speaking areas after the word of mouth success of the first Baahubali. Also read - Inside the making of Kantara Chapter 1: Cinematographer Arvind S Kashyap on building worlds, facing challenges, and pushing boundaries Globally, Kantara: Chapter 1 has made more than Rs 509.25 crore. Taking to their social media, Kantara Chapter 1 makers shared a poster announcing the worldwide collection of Kantara: Chapter 1 — ₹509.25 Cr. They further captioned the post: "The divine cinematic storm continues to soar higher at the box office. #KantaraChapter1 crosses 509.25 CRORES+ GBOC worldwide in the 1st week! Blockbuster Kantara running successfully in cinemas near you." To break into the list of the top 25 Indian films of all time at the worldwide box office, Kantara: Chapter 1 needs to make around Rs 80 crore more. It will do so by this weekend, following which it will be counted as an all-time blockbuster. Earlier this year, the Hindi hit Saiyaara made Rs 570 crore worldwide, while Chhaava made more than Rs 800 crore worldwide a few months before that. The most successful Kannada-language film of all time is KGF: Chapter 2, which made more than Rs 1200 crore globally in the same year as the first Kantara. The two franchises are the torchbearers of Kannada cinema, which will undoubtedly continue growing thanks to the success of Kantara: Chapter 1. Shetty will hand the baton to KGF star Yash again; he's returning for his KGF 2 follow-up Toxic, which is set to become another pan-India hit. Meanwhile, the Kantara franchise will also likely continue considering the increasing success of the first two films.
