The Toxic movie was meant to be Yash’s biggest statement since KGF. It opened huge, then collapsed under poor reviews and one of the largest budgets in Indian cinema. Here are seven facts that explain what happened.
The Toxic movie, full title Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-Ups, is Yash’s gangster epic set in Goa under Portuguese rule, directed by Geetu Mohandas and shot in both Kannada and English. After three postponements, it finally opened worldwide on 26 August 2026, timed for Onam.
It made about ₹137 crore worldwide on day one, but mostly negative reviews and a budget estimated at ₹500 crore or more left it at roughly ₹338 crore worldwide and a flop verdict.
Toxic movie at a glance
- Release date: 26 August 2026 worldwide; the English version opened in India on 4 September
- Director: Geetu Mohandas
- Writers: Geetu Mohandas and Yash
- Producers: Venkat K Narayana (KVN Productions) and Yash (Monster Mind Creations)
- Languages: Kannada and English, with Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam versions
- Runtime: 194 minutes; the English version runs 176
- Music: background score by Ravi Basrur, his third film with Yash after the KGF films
- Worldwide gross: about ₹338 crore
- Estimated budget: ₹500 crore to ₹1,000 crore
1. The Toxic movie story: a gangster in Portuguese Goa
Yash plays Raya, who rises through the underworld of pre-Independence Goa while the territory is still under Portuguese rule. Raised by his elder sister Ganga after a family tragedy in the 1920s, he works his way up under the crime boss Salvador Almeida and becomes engaged to Salvador’s daughter.
Love, betrayal and revenge cost Raya almost everyone close to him, and he leaves Goa to build an empire overseas. The second half jumps forward in time as his son, Ticket, returns to tear that empire down. Yash plays both roles, and the film’s final twist hinges on the relationship between them.
2. The cast: Yash leads a stacked ensemble
The Toxic movie surrounds its star with five leading women, each in a sharply defined part:
- Kiara Advani as Nadia, a circus performer and Ticket’s mother
- Nayanthara as Ganga, Raya’s elder sister
- Huma Qureshi as Elizabeth, Salvador’s mistress
- Tara Sutaria as Rebecca Almeida, Salvador’s daughter and Raya’s fiancée
- Rukmini Vasanth as Melissa, who later becomes Raya’s wife
Akshay Oberoi plays Tony, Elizabeth’s brother, with Darrell D’Silva as Salvador and Sudev Nair as Raya’s friend Karmadi. For a closer look at one of the key characters, read our story on Kiara Advani’s Toxic first look as Nadia.
3. It was shot twice, in two languages
Filming ran from August 2024 to October 2025, with every scene shot in both Kannada and English. A 20-acre set near Bengaluru recreated the period from the 1940s to the 1970s, and that schedule alone involved more than 1,000 crew members and 450 actors.
The production later moved part of the shoot to Mumbai to accommodate Kiara Advani’s pregnancy, completing a 45-day action schedule there. The major action sequences were choreographed by the Hollywood action director J.J. Perry, while Rajeev Ravi shot the film and Ujwal Kulkarni edited it.
4. The Toxic movie had four release dates
It was first set for 10 April 2025, then moved to 19 March 2026, then to 4 June, and finally to 26 August. According to the film’s Wikipedia entry, the March date was dropped partly because of the crisis in the Middle East, one of the film’s key overseas markets, and partly to avoid a clash with Dhurandhar: The Revenge.
The June date gave way to what the makers called a globally aligned release. When it did arrive, the film reportedly played on about 12,000 screens worldwide, in standard, IMAX, Dolby Cinema, 4DX and EPIQ formats.
5. It opened to a huge first day
Sacnilk reported a day-one worldwide gross of about ₹137 crore, which it ranked as the sixth-biggest opening for any film in India. The Hindi version alone contributed ₹50 crore or more of the India total.
The overseas rights for the Indian-language versions went to Phars Film for an advance of ₹105 crore, which The Hollywood Reporter India called a record overseas deal. The same report noted that KGF: Chapter 2 had been the highest-grossing Indian film in the GCC, which shows how much the Gulf was expected to deliver.
6. Then the collections fell away
Business dropped sharply once reviews and word of mouth took hold. The final tally is about ₹338 crore worldwide, with ₹294 crore from India and about ₹44 crore from overseas markets. It still ranks as the third-highest-grossing Indian film of 2026 so far.
That is not enough. Against a budget estimated at ₹500 crore or more, the Toxic movie is a major commercial disappointment and one of the costliest misfires in Indian cinema.
7. Toxic movie reviews: critics were unimpressed
Reviews were mostly negative, with 24% on Rotten Tomatoes from 21 critics. NDTV and The Times of India gave it 3 out of 5, Firstpost 2.5, and Rediff, India Today and Bollywood Hungama 2. The Indian Express gave 1.5, and Hindustan Times and Mid-Day just 1.
The praise and the complaints were consistent across reviews:
- praise for Yash, Kiara Advani, the cinematography and the world-building
- criticism of the screenplay, pacing and editing
- repeated objections to the three-hour-plus runtime
Where to watch the Toxic movie in the UAE
The 26 August release was worldwide, so the Indian-language versions reached overseas cinemas on day one. Lionsgate handles the English version internationally, but release dates outside India and North America were not announced. Check UAE cinema listings for the languages still showing.
Reports on a streaming deal conflict, and no platform has been officially confirmed, so check the major apps for an OTT date.
Toxic movie FAQs
When did Toxic release?
On 26 August 2026 worldwide. The English version opened in India on 4 September.
Is the Toxic movie a hit or a flop?
A flop. It grossed about ₹338 crore worldwide against an estimated budget of ₹500 crore or more.
Who directed Toxic?
Geetu Mohandas, who co-wrote the film with Yash.
See how the star got here in our feature on Yash’s rise from KGF to Toxic, and find more stories in our South Cinema section.