Kantara Chapter 1 has been the blockbuster to bookend an indifferent year for Indian cinema. It started on a bright note for Indian films with Chhaava breaking the bank, but since then, only Saiyaara, Mahavatar Narsimha, Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra, and L2: Empuraan were able to truly collect record numbers. None of these films, however, crossed the elusive ₹1000-crore mark. Rishab Shetty’s Kantara Chapter 1 was seen as the best bet for it this year. So far, it has not disappointed, minting over ₹500 crore in just 10 days.
Kantara A Legend Chapter 1: Rishab Shetty plays a warrior in the film he also directed.
Yet, there are reports claiming that Kantara Chapter 1 may not even turn a profit for Hombale Films, its production house, until it reaches ₹900 crore worldwide, a mark still some distance away for the period drama. Great Andhra reported earlier this week that Kantara Chapter 1 seemed to be ‘heading the Coolie way’, drawing a parallel with the Rajinikanth film, which earned over ₹500 crore, but earned minimal profit for its makers. Mana Telugu also highlighted that Kantara Chapter 1 needs to earn ₹900 crore worldwide before it can be profitable. Both reports claimed to base the number on the film’s reported high distribution costs. But are these doubts over Kantara Chapter 1’s even genuine, or exaggerated? We analyse:
Kantara Chapter 1 box office update
There is no doubt that Kantara Chapter 1 is an all-time blockbuster. By Sunday afternoon, the film had earned over ₹400 crore net in India and close to ₹600 crore worldwide. This makes it the second-highest-grossing Indian film of the year, ahead of Saiyaara and behind only Chhaava. Given that Kantara is likely to earn ₹40 crore net on Sunday, it should cross Chhaava’s ₹800-crore mark over the next weekend.
Kantara Chapter 1’s success has been more pan-India than most films released with this tag in recent years. The film has earned over ₹100 crore net in both its original Kannada version and the Hindi dubbed version. The Telugu dub has also netted over ₹72 crore, while both the Malayalam and Tamil versions have earned over ₹30 crore each in India. This sort of uniform success across languages has only been seen for event films like Baahubali 2, KGF Chapter 2, RRR, and Pushpa 2: The Rise before.
Kantara Chapter 1 budget and distribution rights
Trade sources say that Kantara Chapter 1 was made on a budget of around ₹125 crore, a marked increase from the first Kantara’s minuscule budget of ₹15 crore. But Hombale Film’s belief in the film’s box office potential gave it a wide release after a big marketing campaign, giving the film a landing cost of over ₹150 crore. How heavily anticipated the film was can be gauged by the fact that the makers were able to recover these costs from the digital, TV, and music rights alone. The non-theatrical rights of the film fetched the makers over ₹200 crore.
The distribution rights are where Hombale made more money. The Telugu and Hindi dubs of the film saw record deals with distributors, and trade insiders estimate that the distribution rights for all across India were sold in excess of ₹350 crore. The actual figure may vary by 10-20% in an industry that prides itself on opacity and secrecy.
Is Kantara Chapter 1 already profitable?
The answer to this question lies in the addendum: ‘for whom’. Kantara Chapter 1 has already earned big profits for its production house. Hombale has earned manifold its initial investment from the film. But the box office run is essential for the distributors, and also for the production house’s prestige and long-term productivity. Trade estimates say that the film does indeed need to earn over ₹550 crore net to be really profitable for all distributors across India. Given that it has already earned ₹400 crore, and is projected to cross ₹500 crore net by the end of week 2, that mark looks very achievable.
Kantara Chapter 1 has a good chance at crossing even the ₹900 crore mark mentioned by many portals. Having said that, it really does not need to earn that much to be profitable across the board.
Written and directed by Rishab Shetty, Kantara Chapter 1 also stars Rukmini Vasanth, Jayaram, and Gulshan Devaiah in key roles. The film is currently running in theatres across India.