It’s been more than 4 years since Rocking Star Yash has had a theatrical release. Four years in which his die-hard fans spent a sizeable chunk agonizing about who would direct him in his next after KGF: Chapter 2 and then about when they would get to see him again onscreen. When the actor finally aligned everything and announced the film with Moothon maker Geetu Mohandas as writer and director, the plan was to have the film, Toxic: A Fairy Tale For Grown Ups, in theatres for Easter 2025. April 10 it was meant to be, but production delays scuttled that plan.
In the days before he announced Toxic as his next, during his rare public appearances, Yash had said that whatever he does pick up may not be massive in scale, but that quality would be top notch. That was enough reassurance for his fans to overlook whatever misgivings they had about Geetu being onboarded as director. But by the time the first release postponement came about things had changed.
Yash spoke about how Geetu had come to him with a small idea and that it has become much bigger in scale, not just with the cast on board, but the technicians too. There were rumours that Yash had begun ghost directing sequences and that they’d overshot the budget. By the time they announced a new release date, March 19, 2026, Yash went from actor and co-producer to co-writer as well, which gave credence to some of the rumours that had been floating around earlier.
Yash in Toxic
March 19 was also when Ranveer Singh’s Dhurandhar 2 was hitting theatres, and there was a flurry of online activity with both sets of fans engaged in a ‘war’ of sorts, about one making way for the other. Yash fans wanted Dhurandhar 2 to be postponed, because he had booked the date earlier, but then, it was Toxic that bowed out of the race, citing the war and instability in the Middle East as reason. That market is crucial, they claimed. Dhurandhar 2, which was banned in the region, released on the date and went on to add another Rs 1,800 crore to the kitty.
Setting aside all the negativity surrounding the two teasers of the film and the audio only Tabaahi song release, the team then chose June 4, 2026 as the new release date. No promotional material arrived until April 29, with the only information trickling in from Yash’s interviews in the US after attending CinemaCon, where a 9-minute preview of the film was reportedly screened. While the primary objective was to talk about Ramayana, which he is also co-producing and starring in, Yash spoke to the international media about Toxic too, since it has been shot with an English version as well.
Following that appearance, his fans spread the word that Toxic would release in India and the overseas market in the Indian language versions on June 4 and that the international version would come out at a later date. At the same time, there was a strong buzz on social media that Toxic would not release on June 4, reported by handles from the Hindi and Telugu market, which fans pooh-poohed. Well, those rumours turned out to be true and Yash officially announced that the film will get a new release date.
The claim, this time around, is that the film is complete, but that they need more time to align global distribution and partnerships. Hard core fans are trying to find something to cheer about in this statement, but there is no denying that a large segment has run out of patience. Those social media handles that had predicted the postponement have now also gone to town that there’s more than meets the eye, with claims that the team’s Rs 300 cr ask for the digital streaming rights has found no takers.
Kiara Advani and Yash in Toxic
“There’s only build up and no execution. Yash is taking his local fans and market for granted. He has already disappointed us multiple times,” wrote a fan in response to the actor’s post about the postponement. “Hope we get to see it before Ramayana”, wrote another, while a third chimed in, “Just when we were expecting an update, they have postponed the film”.
Comments also ranged from, “It seems like there are no buyers for the movie, and there might be a change of script and approach. That is why it is shifting”, to “They will keep postponing and finally it will be leaked online”, “Release it directly on OTT”, “If you're gonna keep testing the public's patience over and over, then just don't release it”, “it’s obvious now that the movie has turned out be so bad”, and more.
A section of fans also opined that given the backlash the teasers got for the objectification of women and the graphic violence, there may be pressure on the actor to not release it before Ramayana, the first part of which comes out for Diwali this year. However, some others remain hopeful of an August release.
The trouble with aligning Toxic for an international calendar may push it ahead quite a bit. The Hollywood calendar is already in place. Steven Spielberg’s Disclosure Day (June 12), Toy Story 5 (June 19), Supergirl (June 26), Minions 3 (July 1), Live Action Moana (July 10), Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey (July 17), Spider-Man Brand New Day (July 31). Considering that Ridley Scott’s The Dog Stars is on August 28, Toxic may still have an Independence Day slot in mid-August.
