Rishabh Shetty’s Kantara blockbuster broke the box office record that many thoughts were out of reach just three weeks after its release.
The film beat two big productions with Kannada superstars to rank among the 3 highest-grossing Kannada films of all time. Moreover, the film is still doing well and may gain more popularity.
According to trade sources, Kantara has an international revenue of around Rs 170 crore as of October 19, including a whopping Rs 150 crore or more in revenue from India alone. This ranks it as the third highest-grossing Kannada film of all time.
In the last two days, it has surpassed two major box office hits including Puneeth Rajkumar’s latest film James (Rs 151 crore), and Kichha Sudeep’s Vikrant Rona (Rs 158 crore). At the moment, only KGF: Chapter 2 (Rs 1207 crore) and KGF: Chapter 1 (Rs 250 crore) are ahead of it.
On the 20th day, Kantara was still going strong and grossed Rs 10 crore (across all languages). Industry experts predict that it will easily cross the Rs 200 mark in its lifetime.
Incidentally, the film was initially not heavily promoted outside the state of Karnataka, but on Friday it was released in the North after word spread about how great it was. In an interview with India Today, Rishab Shetty claimed that the “divine” aura associated with the film is what contributed to its success.
It was quoted, “The divine spirit and energy associated with the film have made it a blockbuster today. Also, the people of Karnataka who promoted the film to their friends and the pride they feel is the reason behind the success of Kantara.”
Just ahead of the Telugu release day, Prabhas took to his Instagram on Friday, October 14, and wrote, “Watched #Kantara for the second time and what an extraordinary experience it was! Great concept and an exciting climax.
Must watch a movie in theaters!!!” Hombale Films shared his post and wrote, “We are charmed and humbled by your response Dearest @actorprabhas. We wait with bated breath for the most violent man #Salaar.”