Aug 22, 2026 8:30pm IST
‘Toxic’ Advance Booking Report: Yash-Starrer Eyes Historic Opening, Trade Expects ₹125 Crore
After multiple delays, Yash’s tentpole project “Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-ups” is finally set to hit the screens on August 26. The gangster-period actioner, shot simultaneously in Kannada and English to cater to international audiences, opened advance bookings across India, including for its Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam dubbed versions, on August 21.
As expected, “Toxic” received a thunderous response, with the Kannada and Hindi versions leading the advance sales. With the film eyeing a historic opening, prominent industry and trade experts share their expectations on its box-office prospects.
Akkshay Rathie, director at Aashirwad Theaters Pvt Ltd and a prominent film exhibitor, says “Toxic” is already challenging the opening numbers of Yash’s previous blockbuster, “KGF Chapter 2.” He shares, “The advance bookings of ‘Toxic’ are quite encouraging, especially in the mass centers where the anticipation around a big-scale action film headlined by Yash is massive. Of course, Karnataka is leading, and the film promises a ballistic opening there, with the potential to create history. It could come close to challenging the opening numbers of “KGF 2” in Karnataka as well, given the ticket prices, the kind of demand and the showcasing that it’s getting.”
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Trade analyst Ramesh Bala gives a breakdown of the pre-sales numbers. He says, “The Kannada version is doing very well. Its full-fledged reservations are on, and it has raked in ₹8 to ₹9 crore in Karnataka. In Hindi, it has collected around ₹5 crore, and Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam combined have collected around ₹1 crore.”
He adds that the film is enjoying great momentum and is expected to clock in a historic opening day across the country. “I hope that since it’s releasing on Wednesday, the full-fledged bookings will open tomorrow in other states, too. It’s Yash’s first release after “KGF Chapter 2,” which was a mega blockbuster. Yash is very popular all over India. I expect the film to get a great opening. I expect it to open at around ₹125 crore across the country,” Bala says.
Veteran trade analyst Taran Adarsh agrees that advance sales of “Toxic” have received an excellent response, with opening-day collections targeting the ₹40 crore mark in the Hindi market. “The ticket sales, even for the Hindi version, are extraordinary. I foresee an opening of approximately ₹40 crore-plus on day one. It could go higher depending on how advance bookings progress and how spot bookings happen. The openings in Kannada and Hindi are going to be huge, and I am sure it will perform exceedingly well in the other markets too.”
With the phenomenal response in advance bookings, “Toxic” has the potential to challenge “Dhurandhar: The Revenge,” 2026’s biggest blockbuster so far. Directed by Geetu Mohandas, “Toxic” also stars Nayanthara, Kiara Advani, Rukmini Vasanth, Tara Sutaria and Huma Qureshi in key roles.
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