The upcoming Bollywood action thriller Dhurandhar 2 could gain a significant box office advantage after the postponement of Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-Ups, directed by Geetu Mohandas. The two big films were earlier scheduled to clash in theatres on March 19, but the competition has now been avoided after the makers of Toxic shifted its release date to June 4, 2026.
Actor Yash, who plays the lead role and also co-produces Toxic, confirmed the delay through a statement shared online. According to the makers, the decision was taken because of the ongoing tensions in the Middle East, which is an important international market for the film.
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The statement said, “Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-ups is a film we conceptualized with the vision to create cinema for a global audience. Filmed in Kannada and English, it is built with the conviction to connect with viewers both at home and across the world. After years of dedicated labour, we were excited to share our film with you all on the 19th of March. However, the current uncertainty, especially in the Middle East, has created a situation that impacts our goal to reach and connect with the widest possible audience.”
The makers further added, “Therefore, in the interest of our partners and our audience, we have made the difficult but carefully considered decision to reschedule our release.” The film will now release worldwide on June 4 in several languages including Kannada, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam.
With Toxic moving out of the March release window, Dhurandhar 2, directed by Aditya Dhar and starring Ranveer Singh, will now arrive in theatres without any major competition on March 19.
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Trade experts say this change could benefit the sequel. Earlier, theatres across India were expected to split screens between the two big films, giving each around 4,500 to 5,000 screens. With Toxic now postponed, Dhurandhar 2 may get nearly 6,000 screens across the country, which could help the film reach a larger audience and boost its box office collections.
Trade experts also believe the film could now have a much stronger opening weekend. Earlier estimates suggested that Dhurandhar 2 might collect around Rs 120–130 crore in its first weekend if it released alongside Toxic. However, with no major competition now, analysts feel the film's opening collections could go even higher.
Interestingly, the change in schedule may ultimately benefit both films — Dhurandhar 2 gets a wider release window and increase in the collection at the box office, while Toxic now has more time to prepare for a stronger global launch in June with no other competition in sight.
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