Dulquer Salmaan's Kaantha Stumbles at Box Office Despite High Hopes

On November 15, 2025, Dulquer Salmaan's much-awaited period drama Kaantha hit theaters across India, but the film has opened to a relatively soft response. According to early figures, the Tamil and Telugu language movie earned close to Rs 4 crore on its first day, a figure considered subdued when compared to Salmaan's recent releases.

In Tamil Nadu, Kaantha registered an overall Day 1 occupancy of 21.68%, with morning shows starting at 14.6% and picking up to 34.44% for night shows. The film performed better in Chennai, where it had the highest number of screenings in the state, recording a 29.5% turnout. However, the Telugu version of Kaantha witnessed a muted 19.46% occupancy, despite Salmaan's strong following in the region.

When placed alongside Salmaan's other recent films, Kaantha's opening-day performance appears subdued. His 2024 release Lucky Baskhar and the action drama King of Kotha had both opened to higher collections of Rs 6.45 crore and Rs 6.85 crore, respectively.

The film's release was also accompanied by a legal dispute, with the grandson of iconic Tamil star-musician MK Thyagaraja Bhagavathar alleging that Kaantha depicted his grandfather inaccurately and in a derogatory manner. While the producers did not issue an official response, Salmaan had earlier maintained that the film is "entirely fictional and not inspired by any real person."

Despite the challenges, Kaantha's opening-day numbers still exceed those of some recent Tamil releases, such as the unexpected success Tourist Family, which opened at Rs 2 crore, and Vikram-starrer Veera Dheera Sooran, which collected Rs 3.2 crore. However, the film falls well short of major pan-India Tamil releases like Coolie, Good Bad Ugly, Kubera, and Madharaasi, which had much stronger opening-day collections.