Yash’s upcoming film Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-Ups is yet to hit the theaters, but if veteran producer G Dhananjian is to be believed, the film has already registered impressive numbers. Toxic is scheduled to release on March 19 alongside Dhurandhar 2, which is a sequel to the established series. But Dananjian doesn’t see this as a risky move.
Yash’s upcoming film Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-Ups is yet to hit the theaters, but if veteran producer G Dhananjian is to be believed, the film has already registered impressive numbers.Speaking on his show ‘Cinema Strategist’, Dhananjayan was at a loss for words. “They have made close to Rs 600 crore just from pre-work,” he said categorically, explaining that this number is the result of careful groundwork, not hype.For him, this is not luck. It’s design.
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Dhananjayan believes that the basis of the success of Toxic’s prequel lies in the casting scheme.“You have Nayanthara, then Rukmini Vasanth, then Tovino Thomas from Malayalam, then Amit Karvale,” he added, stressing that each name serves a purpose.It broke her even more. “Nayanthara has already come and gained some popularity from the film Jawan. Everyone knows about Rukmini Vasanth after Kantara’s chapter,” he said, noting that familiarity across regions translates into confidence in the business.For context, Nayanthara gained India-wide visibility with Jawan, while Rukmini Vasanth became a talking point in Kantara’s post. Add Tovino Thomas to the mix, and Dhananjayan will see a film designed to appeal to multiple markets.
His argument is simple: by release day, every major region will have a face you already recognize.
“If you take one person and call him pan-Indian, it is questionable.”
For Dhananjian, Toxic reflects what filmmaking actually looks like in India.“Only when a film like this becomes pan-Indian is it seen as a pan-Indian film,” he said.He rejected symbolism in strong terms. “If you take one person from India and call it a pan-Indian film, frankly, that’s highly questionable.”In his reading, pan-India success is not about dubbing and distribution. It’s about designing a film from scratch to have global appeal, from casting to trailers.Toxic is scheduled to release on March 19 alongside Dhurandhar 2, which is a sequel to the established series. But Dananjian doesn’t see this as a risky move.“They call this strategic situation,” he added. “They have planned the right strategy and are releasing this film with Dhurandhar 2 on March 19.”For him, a clash with an established franchise isn’t defensive – it’s a statement. It is suggested that the team believes Toxic belongs to the same commercial league.
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“Rs 400-450 crore of a Rs 1,000 crore film comes from North India.”
Dhananjayan also linked the prequels of Toxic to a greater box office reality check.“All the films that cross Rs 1,000 crore at the box office, about 40 to 45 percent of the earnings come from North India,” he explained. “Out of the Rs 1,000 crore, around Rs 400 to Rs 450 crore comes from north India.”For him, this share is not accidental. It has to be built into the DNA of the film – through the cast, content and physical promotional presence in the Hindi belt.
In the case of Toxic, he believes those boxes have already been ticked.Although fundamentally confident, Dananjian hinted that the full trading story is still unfolding.He pointed out, “We will have a separate conversation about how these films succeeded commercially and how they positioned themselves.”
