Trade Talk: Releasing the English Version of ‘Toxic’ Is A Gamble, Say Experts

Yash-starrer “Toxic: A Fairy Tale For Grown-Ups” is emerging as one of the biggest box-office disappointments of the post-COVID era. While the period gangster actioner opened to record-breaking numbers, it crashed due to negative word of mouth. The makers will now release the English version across theatres tomorrow (September 4). The new version has been trimmed by 18 minutes, bringing its runtime down to 176 minutes and 52 seconds (2 hours, 56 minutes and 52 seconds).

The film was shot simultaneously in Kannada and English. To assess whether the new version can help revive the film’s box-office prospects, Variety India spoke to trade experts.

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Ramesh Bala, a Chennai-based trade tracker, is skeptical about the release strategy. He says, “Trimming 18 minutes and focusing on the Indian metros with the English version will not make much difference to the film’s overall box office performance, because most people who wanted to watch it have already seen it. As for those who haven’t watched it, I don’t think they were necessarily waiting for an English version. And trimming it by 18 minutes won’t make much of a difference as the film would still run for around three hours. I’m not sure what the makers are expecting from the domestic audience with the English version. My guess is that it won’t fire up the box office.”

On the other hand, trade analyst Taran Adarsh is hopeful about the move and calls it a big gamble. “The English version would be very different. I haven’t watched it. I have watched the Hindi version like everyone else in North India. But we’ll only know tomorrow how the audience is reacting to the film. Because sometimes films don’t work initially but gradually pick up. I’m not sure how the English version will be received. I know it’s the same film, and the Hindi version hasn’t done well, but let’s wait and see how the English version fares tomorrow. It’s a big gamble. They had shot the film in English, so this was always the plan.”

Given that negative word-of-mouth has already led to “Toxic” getting an underwhelming response, it is doubtful whether the English version can turn around the film’s box office fortunes.