PremiumKantara OTT release date: Film scores less than Rs. 1 cr. for the very first time - OTT premiere finally on the cards?
Both RRR and Brahmāstra: Part One – Shiva stuck to a defined pattern for their respective OTT releases - all eyes on team Kantara now
Last Updated: 12.01 PM, Nov 04, 2022
'Kantara on OTT' has been a trending subject on the internet that many seek answers to. At the time of the film's release on September 30, the film's OTT premiere seemed almost set in stone with both the digital partner and a potential release decided upon by the makers. The film's unprecedented box office success, however, changed things and the assigned/rumoured date of November 4 was soon out of consideration, thanks to a tweet put out by executive producer and KRG Studios head, Karthik Gowda. This would then trigger a new round of speculations with reports surmising most things to throw up a new set of 'OTT release' dates.
However, the makers have shown no keenness so far to discuss the matter or divulge anything related to their ongoing internal discussions. With Kantara grossing over Rs. 300 crores worldwide and the Hindi & Telugu versions still going great guns, one would reckon that the theatrical run is likely to be extended but judging by the route taken by major blockbusters like RRR, Brahmastra, and a few others, the 8-week gap between theatrical and OTT releases seems to be the consensus.
RRR released in theatres worldwide on March 24, 2022, and despite the stellar box office success, the makers chose to release it on Netflix on May 20, exactly eight weeks later. And as a fitting reward, the Ram Charan-Jr. NTR-starrer went on to become the only film in the streaming giant's history to trend for 14 weeks straight in both English and Non-English categories. Similarly, Ayan Mukerji's Brahmastra drops on Disney+ Hotstar on November 4 to further enunciate the 8-week rule.
And in Kantara's case, the film saw its first major dip in collections as the original Kannada version recorded less than Rs. 1 crore in a day for the maiden time since its release. The film encountered a whopping 40% slump at the box office on Wednesday, November 2, with the Kantara Kannada managing to earn only Rs. 0.91 crores on the day and following it up with Rs. 0.76 crores on November 3. Kantara Hindi and Kantara Telugu have managed to stay afloat and even outperform the Kannada version but with the mid-week sales now gradually dipping, perhaps it is time for the makers to complete their OTT landing?
Kantara came out in theatres on September 30 and is currently playing in five different languages across the globe. The Rishab Shetty film is only the second in the history of Kannada cinema (KGF 2) to collect more than Rs. 50 crores (net) as a dubbed version in Hindi.
Watch Rishab Shetty in conversation with OTTplay:
