Daijiworld Media Network - Chennai

Chennai, Mar 3: Even before hitting the big screens, Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-Ups has reportedly raked in close to Rs 600 crore through pre-release business, according to veteran producer G. Dhananjayan.

Speaking on his show Cinema Strategist, Dhananjayan said the staggering figure should not surprise anyone who has closely tracked the film’s development and positioning.

“They’ve made almost Rs 600 crore just from pre-business,” he said, emphasising that the number reflects calculated planning rather than mere star power.

At the heart of the film’s pre-release momentum, Dhananjayan noted, is its carefully curated cast. Led by Yash, the film features Nayanthara, Rukmini Vasanth, and Tovino Thomas, among others.

Dhananjayan explained that each actor was chosen with a specific regional market in mind. “Nayanthara has already gained popularity from the movie Jawan. Everyone knows about Rukmini Vasanth after the Kantara chapter,” he said, underlining that the casting ensures recognisable faces across linguistic and regional boundaries.

For Dhananjayan, Toxic represents what he terms genuine pan-India filmmaking. In his view, a film cannot simply be dubbed into multiple languages and marketed nationwide to qualify as pan-India.

“Only when a film is designed from the ground up to appeal to all of India does it get seen as a pan-India film,” he said. “If you just take one person from India and call it a pan-India film, honestly, that’s pretty doubtful.”

He stressed that national appeal must be embedded in casting, content, and promotional strategy from the outset.

The film is slated for release on March 19, the same day as Dhurandhar 2, a sequel to an already successful franchise. Rather than viewing the clash as risky, Dhananjayan described it as “strategic positioning.”

“They planned the right strategy and are releasing this movie with Dhurandhar 2 on March 19,” he said, suggesting that the move signals confidence and positions Toxic within the league of major commercial contenders.

Dhananjayan also linked Toxic’s pre-business success to a broader box-office reality. According to him, films that have crossed the Rs 1,000 crore mark typically derive 40–45 per cent of their earnings from North India.

“Out of Rs 1,000 crore, around Rs 400 to 450 crore come from North India,” he noted, adding that such outcomes are not accidental but the result of strategic planning involving casting choices, content calibration, and strong physical promotional presence in northern markets.

In the case of Toxic, he believes those parameters have been met. With a nationally resonant cast, large-scale production backing, and robust pre-release deals, the film appears commercially well-positioned even before its theatrical debut.

Whether Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-Ups ultimately lives up to its ambitious groundwork will be determined after audiences turn up on March 19. However, as per Dhananjayan’s assessment, the film has already accomplished what many South Indian productions aspiring for pan-India status have historically struggled to achieve — laying a solid commercial foundation well ahead of release.