After a gap of four years after the historic success of 'KGF Chapter 2', Kannada superstar and pan-India icon Yash is returning to the big screen with 'Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-Ups'. The worldwide craze for this dark gangster action-drama directed by Geetu Mohandas is such that record-breaking figures have been recorded at the ticket window in the first few hours of advance booking. According to trade experts, 'Toxic' is not only the biggest riskier project of Yash's career, but it is also poised to set new records at the box office on the first day of its release. More than 90 thousand tickets sold within hours, bumper craze in Karnataka As soon as the advance booking window opened, an unprecedented craze was seen in Yash's home state Karnataka. According to the initial data of Sacnilk, the gross collection for the first day in India has been more than ₹ 4.36 crore without blocked seats, while including blocked seats this figure has directly reached close to ₹ 9.50 crore. From Karnataka alone the film has recorded pre-sales of ₹3.23 crore, with the capital Bengaluru contributing over ₹2.36 crore. In many major centers of the state like Tumkuru (83% occupancy), Mysuru, Hubli and Shivamogga, more than 60% to 80% of the shows are in 'housefull' or 'fast filling' mode several days before the release. Great start in Hindi belt too: Estimate of ₹30-40 crore opening. Yash's craze at pan-India level is clearly visible in Hindi speaking states too. More than 45,000 tickets have been sold for the Hindi version in the national multiplex chains (PVR Inox and Cinepolis) just 5 days before its release and Delhi-NCR and Mumbai remain the top performing markets. Trade analysts estimate that since there is no other big Bollywood film in direct competition on August 26, the Hindi dubbed version of 'Toxic' could take a bang with a net collection of ₹30 to ₹40 crore on the first day. Premium tickets crossed ₹ 2,000, huge pre-sales in USA too. Due to the huge enthusiasm of the audience, the prices of tickets in select luxury cinema halls of Mumbai and Bengaluru have reached ₹ 2,100 to ₹ 2,250, yet the bookings are happening rapidly. The film is doing well in the international market also. Pre-sales for the premiere shows in North America (USA) have crossed $163,000 (approximately ₹1.35 crore) and more than 7,500 tickets have been sold. It has become the second film of Yash after 'KGF 2' to get more than 10 lakh (1 Million) interests on BookMyShow. 'A' certificate and 3 hours 14 minutes runtime: Why is this Yash's biggest bet? The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) has given 'Toxic' an 'A' (Adults Only) certificate without any major cuts, with a total runtime of 3 hours 14 minutes. Rather than a traditional family-action entertainer, the film is a raw & gritty period gangster drama based on Goa's drug cartels, crime and complex human relationships. The film stars Yash along with a pan-India starcast including Kiara Advani, Nayanthara, Huma Qureshi, Tara Sutaria and Rukmini Vasanth in the lead roles. Yash had clarified in a big interview that this film is made only for adults and its aim is to present a deep story and not just action. Will the grand record of the opening day of 'KGF 2' be broken? Releasing in Kannada, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and English in over 12,000 screens worldwide, the total Indian advance booking figures across all languages for 'Toxic' is likely to cross ₹20 to ₹25 crore on the day of release. If the word of mouth publicity and critics' reviews remain strong, 'Toxic' can become the biggest opener of 2026 by entering the worldwide ₹100 crore club on the very first day.
