Mar 04, 2026 5:11pm IST
Why ‘Dhurandhar 2’ Isn’t Impacted By The Middle East Conflict That Delayed ‘Toxic’
This morning, the makers of Yash starrer ‘Toxic’ shared the news of the postponement of their tentpole project due to the conflict in the Middle East, which serves a huge market for the lead protagonist and his movies. While the epic gangster period drama will now arrive on June 4, the conflict in the Gulf nations has not impacted the release of Ranveer Singh’s “Dhurandhar: The Revenge,” which is arriving on its original release date, March 19.
For the unversed, the first part of “Dhurandhar” was not released in the Middle East due to its plot and themes, and that’s one of the crucial reasons the conflict didn’t impact the theatrical release plan of the Ranveer Singh starrer.
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“I feel ‘Dhurandhar,’ the first part, did not release in the Middle East, as we are all aware. So, of course, there was a loss of revenue; I am not denying that. But it was compensated by the other territories, because it did fantastic business. Ditto for part two, we don't know whether it would be applied, because this is a separate film, whether they will apply for the local censorship or not. But having said that, even if it doesn't release, or maybe it has a deferred release, once everything cools down, then also, they are still coming on the 19th, and they are going ahead with the release,” says veteran trade expert Taran Adarsh, talking to Variety India.
Exhibitor and director of Aashirwad Theatres Pvt Ltd, Akkshay Rathie reveals the Middle East is not an important market for “Dhurandhar 2,” unlike “Toxic,” as he says, “It’s pretty reasonable to anticipate that even the second part of the film would not be permitted to release in the Middle Eastern markets like the first one. And the Middle Eastern markets were pretty much a non-factor for ‘Dhurandhar’ anyway, because of that. And with the ongoing conflict, which is unfortunate, the fact that the Middle East will not probably be comfortable coming out of the cinemas is a situation that would have affected only ‘Toxic’ and barely ‘Dhurandhar 2.’ So, I think it's a very, very reasonable call for ‘Dhurandhar 2’ to stay because the markets that are looking dicey are anyway markets that were not going to aspire for ‘Dhurandhar,’ given, the fact that they hadn't permitted even the part one to release. So, the only movie affected because of the situation in the Middle East would be ‘Toxic.’"
Explaining how the Middle East is important for the south-Indian films, he adds, “By the way, for movies from the southern fraternities, the Gulf is a hugely contributing market. So, besides the compromise of screens and showcasing in the northern parts of India, it would have also made a significant dent in the potential revenues from the Middle East had that situation been given its release now. So I think it's a very practical, pragmatic and mature decision.”
“Dhurandhar 2,” which is directed by Aditya Dhar, also stars R Madhavan, Arjun Rampal, Sanjay Dutt, Sara Arjun and Rakesh Bedi in prominent roles.
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