Back in 2022, Kantara surprised everyone. No one expected it to travel beyond Karnataka, yet it won huge praise and went on to collect close to Rs. 400 crore worldwide. Impressively, it also performed very well in the Telugu states, grossing around Rs. 60 crore, a huge achievement for a dubbed film.
Now, the excitement is building for its prequel, Kantara: Chapter 1, written, directed, and led by Rishab Shetty. Fans can’t stop talking about it, and exactly a month from today, the movie will hit theaters in multiple languages.
The pre-sale numbers are crazy. Telugu distributors, in particular, have gone all out, reportedly spending about Rs. 100 crore for the theatrical rights. That’s a massive vote of confidence, but the big question is – can the prequel pull off a similar success at the Telugu box office and give distributors a good return?
Tollywood’s 2025 slate hasn’t been very impressive. Tons of movies hit the screens, but only a handful really worked, and some big-budget films ended up struggling at the box office.
Dubbed releases like Coolie and War 2, despite having popular Telugu stars, didn’t pull in the expected numbers. That left distributors with some real losses. In this situation, Kantara: Chapter 1 will really need to shine if it wants to make the investment worth it.
On the promotion side, there’s still a bit of catching up to do. With just a month left, the marketing push seems to be picking up only now. For a pan-Indian release like this, strong promotion is key to making it a big hit.
All in all, it won’t be easy for Kantara: Chapter 1 in the Telugu box office, but the hype and faith from distributors hint at a big hit. Fans are excited to see if it actually pulls it off.