Bengaluru: The much-awaited advance booking for Rishab Shetty’s Kantara 2, officially titled Kantara: A Legend Chapter – 1, began on Friday across Bengaluru, Mysuru, and a few other districts in Karnataka. The bookings opened to an overwhelming response, with tickets selling out rapidly across both single screens and multiplexes.
Tickets sell out within hours
As expected, the demand has been phenomenal. Within just one hour of opening, nearly 30 per cent of tickets on BookMyShow were already sold out. Over 160 shows were listed initially, and industry trackers predict that Bengaluru alone could host more than 1,000 shows on day one.
Advance booking covers shows from October 2 to 5, with the first shows starting as early as 6.30 am in many single-screen theatres. Multiplexes, however, will begin screening slightly later, from 7 am onwards.
Theatres gearing up for festival release
Several theatres in Bengaluru and other cities are preparing for packed houses. These include popular names such as Siddeshwara, Gopalan Miniplex, Ravi Digital, Gopalan Cinemas (Mysore Road), Gopalan Mall (Sirsi Circle), Inox (Mall of Asia), PVR Orion Mall, PVR (Kanakapura Road), Balaji Theatre, Rajkamal, Srinivas Theatre, KRG Soundarya Mahal, Sri Renuka Prasanna, VR Cinemas, Swagath Shankar Nag, Victory Cinemas, Vaishnavi and Vaibhavi Cinema, Veeresh Cinemas, Manasa Theatre, and Sri Venkateshwara.
Given the massive hype, most single screens and multiplexes are dedicating the majority of their screens to Kantara 2 on October 2, coinciding with its worldwide release.
Ticket prices surge amid high demand
The Karnataka High Court recently stayed the state government’s decision to cap ticket prices at ₹200 across theatres, paving the way for higher pricing of Kantara 2 tickets.
For the special 6.30 am shows in single screens, ticket prices range between ₹400 and ₹700. In premium categories and select theatres, prices are going as high as ₹800–1,000 per ticket, reflecting the extraordinary demand.
Release details
Kantara: A Legend Chapter – 1 is scheduled to release on October 2, 2025, across multiple languages including Kannada, Telugu, Hindi, Tamil, and Malayalam. While bookings for the Kannada version have opened, advance reservations for other languages are yet to begin.
Conclusion
The explosive start to advance booking underscores the massive anticipation surrounding Kantara 2, the follow-up to Rishab Shetty’s 2022 blockbuster. With record-breaking demand, soaring ticket prices, and an early morning frenzy at theatres, the film is poised for a historic opening in Karnataka and beyond.