Toxic vs Dhurandhar 2: Why Yash has won in the Middle-East after record-breaking Rs 105 cr deal, Ranveer Singh film likely to be a no-show | Regional News
Phars Film, a pioneering film exhibition and distribution company in the Gulf, on Tuesday announced that it has struck a record-breaking overseas distribution deal for Geethu Mohandas’ upcoming Kannada period gangster film Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-Ups, headlined by Yash of KGF-fame. The deal, as per reports, is worth a whopping Rs 105 crore.
The deal struck by Yash’s Monster Mind Creations and Venkat K Narayana’s KVN Productions with Ahmad Golchin’s Phars Film is unprecedented on multiple fronts. Toxic has been shot simultaneously in both Kannada and English, keeping in mind global sensibilities, enabling a smoother overseas positioning across countries as diverse as Japan, China, and Nepal.
However, the deal with Phars Film, in fact, excludes the English version, the rights of which will be sold to another international distributor. The deal is inclusive of only the native Kannada version, along with the dubbed Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, and Malayalam versions. Given the English version isn’t a part of an overseas distribution deal, the sum of Rs 105 crore is a huge deal.
Besides the global sensibilities, another reason behind the record-breaking deal could be Yash’s previous track record overseas. His last release, Prashanth Neel’s 2022 action thriller KGF: Chapter 2, amassed Rs 1250 crore at the worldwide box office, and is currently the sixth highest grossing Indian film ever globally, after Dangal (2016), Baahubali 2: The Conclusion (2017), Pushpa 2: The Rule (2024), Dhurandhar (2025), and RRR (2022).
Edge over Dhurandhar 2
This deal with Phars Film also allows Toxic an edge over Aditya Dhar’s Bollywood period spy thriller Dhurandhar 2: The Revenge, which is slated to release in cinemas worldwide the same day as the former on March 19. While the first part Dhurandhar, which released in cinemas on December 5, 2025, long surpassed the global box office collection of KGF: Chapter 2, surpassing Yash’s new film is likely to be a tougher challenge.
Phars Film has its biggest stronghold on the Gulf countries, thanks to its history. Founded 1964 in Dubai, amidst a landscape where film activity was nascent in the Gulf, Phars Film played a pivotal role in shaping the cinematic landscape of Dubai. As per its official website, the company even organized screenings in the desert and spearheaded the establishment of cinemas across Al Ain, Ras Al Khaimah, and Ajman.
With over 350 films each year, Phars Film is the Middle East’s largest film distribution and exhibition network. This will allow Toxic to gain a wide release in the Gulf region, where Yash’s KGF: Chapter 2 amassed around Rs 68.50 crore, the fourth highest box office collection for an Indian film in the UAE. And the best part? There’s no competition from Dhurandhar 2 in the Gulf.
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Even the first part, starring Ranveer Singh, couldn’t secure a release in the Gulf countries, thanks to its anti-Pakistan positioning. While it trended at the #1 position in the Middle East once it released on Netflix last month, it’s unlikely the sequel will be able to see light of the day in the Gulf theatres either. The first part’s overseas distributor Pranab Kapadia claimed the film lost as much as $10 million (Rs 90 crore) because it lost out on a release across the Gulf.
Andhra-Telangana deal
Toxic also seems to have an edge over Dhurandhar 2 in terms of its distribution deals back home, at least in the Telugu-speaking states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. The makers have entered into another whopping Rs 120 crore distribution deal with Dil Raju’s Sri Venkateswara Creations. This marks the biggest deal for a non-Telugu film in the Telugu-speaking states.
Manorama Online reports that PVR INOX was also in the running for the distribution rights of Toxic in these states. That could’ve created a conflict of interest, given PVR INOX is also the primary distributor of both parts of Dhurandhar. Now, Dil Raju has bagged the rights, given the track record of Yash’s KGF: Chapter 2, the Telugu version of which earned Rs 114.90 crore at the India box office.
On the other hand, Ranveer Singh is not as big a pan-India star yet. Even though his Dhurandhar beat Sukumar and Allu Arjun’s Telugu action thriller Pushpa 2: The Rule to become the highest grossing Indian film ever at the domestic box office, the first part didn’t release in a dubbed Telugu version.
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The makers, Aditya and Lokesh Dhar’s B62 Studios and Jyoti Deshpande-led Jio Studios, have rectified that with the sequel, which is slated to release across all the above five Indian languages. Both Dhurandhar 2 and Toxic hope to cash in on the lucrative release window on the occasion of Ugadi, Gudi Padwa, and Eid.
