As the initial four months of 2025 come to an end, there has been a notable lack of major films performing well at the box office in India. Numerous significant releases disappointed, and aside from Chhaava and L2: Empuraan, few managed to attract large crowds to the theaters. This has only increased the excitement for larger films in the rest of the year. However, unexpectedly, it is a regional movie featuring no superstar that is leading the charts, surpassing some of the biggest films across all industries.

India's most anticipated film of 2025

According To a detailed list of the most awaited Indian films of 2025 on IMDb, the Kannada film Kantara: Chapter 1, which is the prequel to the 2022 sleeper success Kantara, is ranked first. The film features Rishab Shetty in the main role, and he served as its director as well. As stated in the film's tagline, it ‘investigates the beginnings of Kaadubettu Shiva in the era of the Kadamba dynasty, examining the wild nature and lost legends tied to his history’.

How Kantara Chapter 1 beat heavyweights

There are some star-studded films set for release in 2025. Rajinikanth makes his return to the cinemas in Lokesh Kanagaraj's Coolie, while Kamal Haasan and Mani Ratnam have come together again for Thug Life. Prabhas is taking on horror comedy in The Raja Saab, while Hrithik Roshan and Jr NTR are expanding the Spy Universe across India with War 2. Nevertheless, all these movies trail behind Kantara: Chapter 1 in the ranking of the most awaited Indian films.

The film's excitement stems from the original's triumph. Kantara was successful not only in Karnataka but throughout India. The film became a phenomenon nationwide. In Kannada, it was an all-time blockbuster, grossing ₹162 crore, and it performed remarkably well in Telugu, earning ₹42 crore. The enthusiasm in the south, where the film collectively earned ₹225 crore, resulted in a delayed Hindi-dubbed release three weeks later. And Kantara proved to be a hit in Hindi as well, garnering ₹84 crore. In this aspect, Kantara Chapter 1 is following the pattern of two southern sequels that have continued the success of their predecessors to make history - Pushpa 2: The Rule and KGF: Chapter 2. Both films were among the highest earners in Indian cinema history and achieved great box office success. The industry is optimistic for a similar outcome from Kantara: Chapter 1.

In addition to Rishab, the film features Jayaram, Kishore, Jayasurya, and Jisshu Sengupta. Produced by Hombale Films, Kantara: Chapter 1 is set to release on October 2.

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