The producers of “Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Adults” have announced a revised release date, moving production from the originally scheduled March 19th to June 4th, citing the continued instability in the Middle East.
KVN Productions and Monster Mind Creations made this decision on the advice of Firth Films, one of their major distribution partners, as rising tensions disrupt movie theater operations across the Gulf region, a key market for the film’s multilingual global expansion.
This change avoids a direct conflict with Durandal: The Revenge, director Ranveer Singh’s sequel to the blockbuster spy thriller set in Pakistan, which is also scheduled for release on March 19th. The original Durandal was banned from theatrical release in several Gulf Cooperation Council countries, but later became a streaming phenomenon on Netflix, topping the charts in many territories including India and Pakistan. In the Middle East, political sensitivities in India and Pakistan can complicate and commercially risk the theatrical release of these types of productions. “Durandal: The Revenge” will stick to its March 19 release date, producer Geo Studio confirmed to Variety.
The postponement of “Toxic” comes as the makers are gearing up for the trailer release on March 8 in Bengaluru. The makers had completed the film’s first single ‘Tabaahi’, which was scheduled to debut on March 2, but opted to put the music video on hold and pause promotional development.
“‘Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Adults’ is a film conceived by us with a vision to create a film for a global audience. Shot in Kannada and English, it is built on the belief that it will connect with audiences not just in the country but around the world,” the statement said. “After years of dedicated effort, we were delighted to be able to release the film to you on March 19th. However, the current uncertainties, particularly in the Middle East, have created circumstances that impact our goal of reaching and connecting with the widest possible audience. Therefore, in the interest of our partners and audiences, we have made the difficult but carefully considered decision to change our release schedule.”
The film stars Yash, Nayanthara, Kiara Advani, Huma Qureshi, Rukmini Vasant and Tara Sutaria. Written by Yash and directed by Geethu Mohandas, the film was shot simultaneously in Kannada and English, with dubbed versions in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam. The film was directed by Mohandas and produced by Venkat K. Narayana and Yash through KVN Productions and Monster Mind Creations.
