Kantara: Chapter 1 had a mediocre opening overseas, collecting USD 1.60 million (Rs. 14 crore) on its opening day, including USD 725K previews. Combined with Rs. 69.50 crore first day in India, the worldwide box office gross through Thursday stands at Rs. 83.50 crore approx.
The opening is unremarkable all across the board with no standouts. The United States was the top market, making up nearly half of the opening day, followed by the Middle East. It is a mid-week release, which is generally a limiting factor overseas, but then it is pretty much standard for South Indian films to have a mid-week release. That said, things do appear better for the weekend than the typical frontloaded South films, but not by a lot. The film is looking at an extended weekend of USD 5-6 million.
While that wouldn’t be a poor result on its own, the problem is, once again, that the expectations were far higher. Unlike the domestic market, where the film has been released on advance basis, money was put where the mouth was, overseas. The film fetched exorbitant MGs from sub distributors all across, benchmarking the business of blockbusters like Pushpa 2 and KGF 2. Those distributors are now staring at huge losses unless the film stages a dramatic turnaround over the weekend and sustains strongly thereafter.
The Territorial Breakdown for Overseas Box Office of Kantara: Chapter 1 is as follows:
| Area | Gross |
|---|---|
| United States | USD 775,000 |
| Canada | USD 25,000 |
| Australia – NZ | USD 80,000 |
| Middle East | USD 390,000 |
| Rest of Asia | USD 40,000 |
| United Kingdom | USD 170,000 |
| Rest of Europe | USD 100,000 |
| Rest of World | USD 25,000 |
| OVERSEAS | USD 1,605,000 |
ALSO READ: Top Highest First Day Grossers in India: Rishab Shetty starrer Kantara Chapter 1 Eighteenth