Rishab Shetty’s Kantara: Chapter 1, produced by Vijay Kiragandur’s Hombale Films, has opened with a wave of momentum that is hard to ignore. The prelude to his 2022 hit is drawing houseful crowds across the country, and the ticketing numbers speak for themselves. Within hours of release, the makers took to social media to share that the film had sold 1.25 million tickets in just 24 hours on BookMyShow, calling it the highest ever for Day 1 on the platform in 2025. By the end of the first day, the tally crossed 1.28 million, placing Kantara: Chapter 1 right at the top of the charts.

That is only part of the picture. The 1.28 million tickets are from BookMyShow alone. Add in competing apps and the surge of direct theatre bookings, and the film’s opening-day tally is estimated to cross 2 million tickets, a remarkable milestone for a Kannada-origin film playing in multiple languages.

The demand has been matched with scale. Bengaluru is hosting over 1,000 shows daily, while Mysuru, Mangaluru and Hubballi are also running at high capacity. Beyond Karnataka, the response is equally striking. Mumbai has rolled out 100-plus daily shows for the Kannada version, while the Hindi version has secured 1,000-plus shows across North India, including nearly 900 screenings in Mumbai alone. Ahmedabad, Pune and Surat have also joined the list with strong allocations.

For Hombale Films, it is another showcase of event-level cinema. Online chatter mirrors the craze, with tags like #KantaraEverywhere and #DivineBlockbusterKantara underscoring the film’s reach. With this kind of start, Kantara: Chapter 1 is not just leading the box office, it is setting the pace for 2025.