Franchise fever builds, ticket cap lifted but can Kantara Chapter 1 match its prequel’s success?

Rishab Shetty returns in Kantara Chapter 1

After the phenomenal success of Kantara, all eyes are now on its much-awaited prequel, Kantara Chapter 1. With the franchise already boasting a massive fan base, sky-high anticipation, and no movie ticket cap in Karnataka this time around, the stage is set for an even bigger box office run. The big question is whether the new chapter can live up to, or even surpass, the magic of the original.

How is Kantara Chapter 1 doing in pre-sales?

The advance booking for Kantara Chapter 1 opened on September 28 with pre-sales business touching Rs 5.7 crore with 1.7 lakh tickets sold. The first installment's advance ticket sales had opened at Rs 2 crore.

"We are seeing very encouraging trends for Kantara: Chapter 1 at Mukta A2 Cinemas. Advance ticket sales have picked up strongly over the past few days, with audiences showing tremendous excitement to experience the film on the big screen," Satwik Lele, COO, Mukta A2 Cinemas told Moneycontrol.

While the pre-sales business is higher for the upcoming release, it is still lower than expectations especially keeping in mind the bigger budget. Released in 2022, Kantara which turned out to be one of the biggest blockbusters for the Kannada film industry was made on a budget of Rs Rs 16 crore. On the other hand, the second part has been mounted on a budget of more than Rs 100 crore.

Pre-sale business in the Hindi belt is also underwhelming at Rs 50,000 for day one with the movie yet to pick up pace.

"The Hindi version is a little slow at the moment. But I believe it will pick up as people are currently occupied with festivities and garba celebrations," said Bhuvanesh Mendiratta, MD, Miraj Entertainment Ltd.

He added that the advance bookings in Kannada are doing fantastically well, with almost 100 percent sold-out shows in our Karnataka properties. "Over the next couple of days, especially by October 2, we expect the momentum to build and the numbers to grow strongly.”

Kantara Chapter 1, releasing in seven languages, is seeing strong traction for its Tamil and Telugu versions, selling 39,270 and 33,492 tickets respectively. The film's Malayalam version is also seeing strong buzz with 53,957 tickets sold across 1,236 shows.

Except for the Kannada version which released in cinemas on October 1, all other language versions will be screened in theatres on October 2.

Overall, Kantara Chapter 1 has collected Rs 11.46 crore in advance ticket sales for 11,800 shows. It lags behind KGF Chapter 2 which had advance sales of Rs 17.95 crore in Kannada and is also behind this year's release Chhaava which had earned Rs 13.79 crore in pre-sales.

The new Kantara movie is releasing alongside Bollywood movie Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari starring Sanya Malhotra, Varun Dhawan and Janhvi Kapoor. The new Hindi release has recorded net advance booking collections of around Rs 1.13 crore with around 28,698 tickets sold.

Will Kantara Chapter 1 turn out to be a blockbuster?

The expectations are high with opening day collections estimated at Rs 30-40 crore. The first instalment in the franchise had earned around Rs 35 crore in its first week.

In addition, Kantara Chapter 1 will be releasing in the middle of the festive season with October 2 being holiday on account of Dussehra and Gandhi Jayanti.

"We have scheduled early morning shows in select cinemas to accommodate the surge in bookings and ensure more guests get to watch the film. Given the strong buzz and the festive timing, we expect Kantara Chapter 1 to deliver a robust box office performance and continue the momentum of big-ticket releases this season," Lele said.

Will the new Kantara echo the success of its first run?

The 2022 release Kantara had a slow start but then broke box office records by collecting around Rs 400 crore in worldwide collections. Its Hindi version alone had earned Rs 80 crore despite releasing two weeks after the Kannada version's release.

With its India collections at Rs 360 crore and a budget of Rs 16 crore, the film recorded a profit of Rs 344 crore.

However, the over Rs 100 crore budget is a concern especially with the new instalment yet to gain the expected steam at the box office.

What are the ticket prices for Kantara Chapter 1?

A 2D version of the film in Kannada will cost audiences Rs 500-1,200 in Bengaluru.

Just a month ahead of Kantara Chapter 1's release, the Karnataka government had implemented the Rs 200 movie ticket cap, a move that experts said would have impacted the film's business especially with majority collections expected from the Kannada version.

The Karnataka High Court on September 23 stayed the rule capping movie ticket prices at Rs 200 in the southern state, clearing the way for cinemas to return to dynamic pricing. Just a day away from Kanatara Chapter 1's release, the Karnataka High Court provided another major update on the Rs 200 movie ticket cap by declining to lift the rule.

A single screen exhibitor in Karnataka said that after the stay on the price cap rule, the makers of the movie demanded higher revenue share which has resulted in no screening of the movie.

“If I change my terms for one movie, I will have to do it for all and that will affect my revenues. I am happy with screening movies like Pawan Kalyan’s OG which is doing very well in my cinema.”