As the first four months of 2025 draw to a close, there has been a marked dearth of big films working at the box office in India. Many big releases fell flat, and apart from Chhaava and L2: Empuraan, not many were able to bring in the masses to the theatres in droves. This has only heightened the anticipation for bigger films in the remainder of the year. But surprisingly, it is a regional film with no superstar, that is topping the charts, ahead of some of the biggest films in all industries.

India's most anticipated film of 2025

According to a comprehensive list of the most anticipated Indian movies of 2025 on IMDb, Kannada film Kantara: Chapter 1, the prequel to the 2022 sleeper hit Kantara, is at the top of the list. The film stars Rishab Shetty as the lead, and he also directed it. According to the film's strap, it ‘explores the origins of Kaadubettu Shiva during the Kadamba dynasty era, delving into the untamed wilderness and forgotten lore surrounding his past’.A post shared by Hombale Films (@hombalefilms)



How Kantara Chapter 1 beat heavyweights

There are some superstarry movies lined up for release in 2025. Rajinikanth returns to the theatres in Lokesh Kanagaraj's Coolie, while Kamal Haasan and Mani Ratnam haved reunited for Thug Life. Prabhas is doing horror comedy in The Raja Saab, while Hrithik Roshan and Jr NTR are taking the Spy Universe pan-India with War 2. Yet, all these films are below Kantara: Chapter 1 in the list of most anticipated Indian films.

The film's buzz lies in the success of the original. Kantara was a hit not just in Karnataka but pan-India. The film was a sensation across the country. In Kannada, it was an all-time blockbuster, earning ₹162 crore, but it also did very well in Telugu, earning ₹42 crore. The craze in the south, where the film collectively earned ₹225 crore, led to a belated Hindi-dubbed release three weeks later. And Kantara emerged as a blockbuster in Hindi too, minting ₹84 crore. In this regard, Kantara Chapter 1 is following in the footsteps of two south sequels that have followed successful part ones to script history - Pushpa 2: The Rule and KGF: Chapter 2. Both films were among the biggest hits of Indian history and broke the bank. The industry is hoping for something similar from Kantara: Chapter 1.

Apart from Rishab, the film also stars Jayaram, Kishore, Jayasurya, and Jisshu Sengupta. Produced by Hombale Films, Kantara: Chapter 1 is slated to be released on October 2.

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