Kantara: Chapter 1 Tops Global Box Office, Beats Taylor Swift and Leonardo DiCaprio Films

Rishab Shetty’s ‘Kantara: Chapter 1’ has taken the global box office by storm, emerging as the highest-grossing film worldwide this week. The Kannada-language epic has outperformed Taylor Swift’s concert film and Leonardo DiCaprio’s latest release, setting a new benchmark for Indian cinema on the world stage.

🌍 Global Box Office Dominance

As per trade analysis, ‘Kantara: Chapter 1’ has raked in a whopping ₹450 crore (approx. $53 million) globally within the first week of its release. Out of this, the Indian box office alone accounted for ₹379 crore ($42 million) during the first week, while international markets added de ₹70 crore ($8 million) more to the total.

The numbers make it the top-performing film globally this week, surpassing:

• Taylor Swift: The Official Release Party of a Showgirl – ₹440 crore ($50 million)
• One Battle After Another (Paul Thomas Anderson & Leonardo DiCaprio) – ₹350 crore ($40 million)

Swift’s film, released as a special weekend-only event alongside her album launch, saw limited revenue beyond its opening days. Meanwhile, ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ re-release added less than ₹88 crore ($10 million) during the same period.

🇮🇳 India’s Box Office Powerhouse

‘Kantara: Chapter 1’ has seen exceptional performance across all dubbed versions:

• Hindi version: Crossed ₹100 crore net
• Kannada version: Surpassed ₹100 crore milestone
• Telugu version: Collected over ₹60 crore net
• Tamil & Malayalam versions: Each earned more than ₹20 crore

The film’s strong performance across multiple languages underscores its pan-India and global appeal.

🎬 About the Film

The film that was directed and written by Rishab Shetty features Rukmini Vasanth, Gulshan Devaiah, Jayaram, and Rishab Shetty in the lead roles. This movie is a prequel to the 2022 hit Kantara, and the plot revolves around a thousand years before the original, going through the deep mythical roots of the saga.

The movie has been lauded by both critics and viewers for its visuals, music, and narrating power and it has been described as a rare combination of spirituality and spectacle.

🔮 What’s Next?

The production team has already disclosed that after the remarkable success of Kantara: Chapter 1, ‘Kantara: Chapter 2’ is in the process of being made. Followers will be able to see the new part broadening the world even more.