Yash's 'Toxic' Crosses ₹214 Crore in Five Days, But a ₹101 Crore Opening Gives Way to a Steep Slide

Bengaluru: Yash's much-hyped Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-Ups has crossed the ₹200 crore mark in India inside its opening week, collecting ₹214.10 crore net in five days, according to box office tracker Sacnilk. But behind the headline milestone lies a more uncomfortable story for the film's backers: a record-shattering ₹101.10 crore opening day has given way to one of the steepest slides in recent memory, with the first Sunday bringing in just ₹23 crore.

A colossal opening, then a 64 per cent crash

Directed by Geetu Mohandas and starring Yash alongside Kiara Advani, Nayanthara, Tara Sutaria and Rukmini Vasanth, Toxic released on Wednesday, August 26, in Kannada, Hindi, Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam. Its ₹101.10 crore first day, per Sacnilk, came on the strength of 56.1 per cent occupancy nationwide — numbers that suggested the film might chase the biggest pan-India openings ever recorded.

The momentum did not hold. Sacnilk's day-wise data shows collections falling to ₹37.65 crore on Thursday — a drop of roughly 64 per cent — then ₹27.20 crore on Friday, ₹25.15 crore on Saturday and ₹23 crore on Sunday. As Business Today noted in its day-five report, the Sunday figure was the film's lowest single-day haul yet, an unusual pattern for a big release, which would normally build over its first weekend rather than shrink through it.

Outlook India reported that the theatrical footprint has contracted alongside the numbers: Toxic played 16,241 shows on Sunday, down sharply from 24,579 on opening day, though occupancy ticked up marginally to 25.3 per cent as screens were trimmed.

Where the money is coming from

Globally, the film is closing in on the ₹300 crore gross milestone. Outlook India put the five-day worldwide gross at ₹285.20 crore, with overseas markets contributing ₹29.25 crore after adding ₹2 crore on Sunday; Sacnilk's tally runs slightly higher at ₹293.20 crore worldwide, with India accounting for ₹255.95 crore gross. The small gap between trackers is routine at this stage, but both agree on the trajectory.

The language split tells its own story. Sacnilk's data shows the Hindi version is the film's biggest earner at ₹129.50 crore net over five days — Business Today noted it crossed ₹100 crore in just four days — followed by the original Kannada version at ₹49.95 crore, Telugu at ₹23.40 crore, Tamil at ₹9.10 crore and Malayalam at ₹2.15 crore. Occupancy, however, was strongest at home: the Kannada version averaged 57.7 per cent across five days, nearly double the Hindi version's 31.4 per cent, per Sacnilk. Karnataka alone contributed ₹64.25 crore in gross collections.

The KGF shadow

Comparisons with Yash's own past are proving unflattering. Business Today pointed out that KGF: Chapter 2 had reached roughly ₹380 crore in India within four days of its 2022 release — a mark Toxic trails by more than ₹160 crore at the same stage — and went on to finish with about ₹860 crore net in India and ₹1,215 crore worldwide. Among 2026 releases, Outlook India noted that Toxic's five-day total sits behind Ram Charan's Peddi, which had collected ₹315 crore over its own first five days.

The commercial stakes are considerable. Business Today reported that trade estimates place the film's break-even target at upwards of ₹800 crore, meaning the five-day haul represents only around 30 per cent of what the project needs — with trackers projecting weekday collections could settle in the ₹8-12 crore range if the current trend holds.

Why the slide?

The consensus among trade watchers is that word of mouth, not star power, is driving the decline. Outlook India cited a mixed audience response, with criticism directed at the film's violent content and its portrayal of female characters — a debate that has played out noisily on social media since release day. Business Today similarly attributed the slide to mixed reviews and weak word of mouth overwhelming the film's enormous opening-day curiosity.

None of this makes Toxic a flop yet. A ₹214 crore five-day total is a figure most Indian films never approach, and the film comfortably led the August box office, a month in which Sacnilk's data shows Indian cinemas grossed ₹986 crore across 72 releases. But the gap between the film's opening and its first Sunday is now the number the industry is watching.

What to watch this week

• Monday's drop: If collections fall into the single digits, as some trackers project per Business Today, the ₹300 crore India net mark could take considerably longer than the opening suggested.
• The Hindi belt: With ₹129.50 crore already banked, the Hindi version's weekday hold will decide whether Toxic can sustain a national footprint or retreats to its Karnataka stronghold.
• Screen count: Exhibitors have already cut a third of the film's shows since opening day, per Outlook India; further trimming would compound the slide.

Sources: This report is based on box office data and reporting from Sacnilk, Business Today and Outlook India.