Kantara: Chapter 1 is ending its opening weekend on a high, with estimates putting Sunday numbers in India over Rs. 70 crore. Depending on where the actuals settle tomorrow, Sunday could end up going over its opening day, an extreme rarity for a South Indian tentpole release, even more so when the opening day was a holiday and included previews.
The extended weekend in India is north of Rs. 250 crore, with an estimated Rs. 256 crore in four days. Another Rs. 54 crore is expected to come from overseas, after grossing USD 4.80 million (Rs. 42.50 crore) over its first three days. The global opening weekend is estimated at Rs. 310 crore.
It’s South India where the film has performed the best, with a near record opening in the home state of Karnataka. Kantara will miss the weekend record of KGF 2 by a hair-thin margin, but it is coming out with a much stronger trend, with Saturday and Sunday being almost 10 per cent higher. Other Southern states have put on a strong show as well, with impressive openings and then topping it off with an even better trend.
The Hindi version opening was a letdown, but it picked up well over the weekend. The film made solid gains on Saturday, and now Sunday is expected to be almost 25 per cent higher than the holiday first day, at around Rs. 22 crore nett. The strong trend bodes well for its eventual legs, though the weekdays will determine how far it can go.
Going into the weekend, there was a sense of underwhelm for the film with the Hindi version not firing up, but it is ending the weekend on a positive and Rs. 300 crore richer. The film has a platform set for it to emerge as one of the biggest grossers ever for Indian cinema. It is certain to earn over Rs. 500 crore domestically and Rs. 600 crore worldwide. How much more?… will be known in the weeks to come.
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