Yash’s upcoming film Toxic has hit Rs 35 crore in worldwide advance bookings, four days ahead of its release on August 26.

The strong pre-sales have made Toxic the highest-grossing Kannada film of 2026 through advance bookings alone, surpassing KD – The Devil’s final closing collection of Rs 33.01 crore.

In India, the film has crossed Rs 18.26 crore gross from advance bookings, with roughly 4.5 lakh tickets sold across the country so far.

The booking pace has been especially strong in the Hindi market, where the film has sold more than 60,000 tickets within the first 24 hours, surpassing early bookings for Ranbir Kapoor’s Animal.

Trade analysts, who had earlier projected a Rs 20 crore net opening in Hindi, now expect the film to significantly exceed that mark based on current booking momentum.

Toxic marks Yash’s first film since KGF: Chapter 2 nearly four years ago, and releases worldwide on August 26 across Kannada, Hindi, English, Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam.

Toxic is directed by Geetu Mohandas and produced through KVN Productions and Yash’s own banner, Monster Mind Creations.

The film has received an ‘A’ certificate from Indian censors and stars Yash in a dual role alongside Nayanthara, Kiara Advani, Tara Sutaria, Rukmini Vasanth and Huma Qureshi.

In India alone, Toxic has crossed Rs 18.26 crore gross from advance bookings, with around 4.5 lakh tickets sold so far.

Karnataka has led ticket sales by a wide margin, contributing the bulk of the advance booking revenue ahead of the film’s release.

Toxic releases worldwide on August 26 across Kannada, Hindi, English, Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam, marking Yash’s first film since KGF: Chapter 2 nearly four years ago.

The film’s Hindi advance booking alone has crossed 60,000 tickets within the first 24 hours, with trade watchers projecting an opening well beyond the initially estimated Rs 20 crore net range.

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Zombie Reddy 2 has been officially announced on Teja Sajja’s birthday, with the sequel to his 2021 horror-comedy hit revealed to fans.

The makers have confirmed the sequel will be mounted on a much bigger scale than the original, turning Zombie Reddy into a complete franchise.

A specific theatrical release date is yet to be announced, though the makers have shared plans for a considerably larger production this time around.

Notably, Prasanth Varma, who directed the original film, will not be returning for the sequel, with a different director confirmed to take charge, though not yet named.

The announcement was deliberately timed to coincide with Teja Sajja’s birthday, a move seen as designed to generate maximum organic buzz for the franchise’s expansion.

Teja Sajja has had a strong run since the original Zombie Reddy, going on to headline the hit superhero film Hanu-Man in 2024 and Mirai in 2025.

Teja Sajja has built a strong run in Telugu cinema in recent years, following up Zombie Reddy with lead roles in the hit superhero film Hanu-Man in 2024 and Mirai in 2025.

The announcement timing, landing on Teja Sajja’s 31st birthday, has been described as a deliberate marketing move designed to generate maximum organic buzz for the franchise expansion right out of the gate.

The original Zombie Reddy, released in 2021, followed a game designer whose trip to a village turns catastrophic after a zombie outbreak, with the story centred on discovering a cure involving water from a Shiva Lingam.

The first film is produced by Apple Tree Studios and is available for streaming on Prime Video.

Prasanth Varma, who directed the original Zombie Reddy, will not be returning for the sequel, with a different filmmaker set to take over though not yet officially named.

Commentators covering the announcement have noted that changing directors carries some risk, but framed it as a deliberate move by the makers to bring a fresh creative take rather than repeat the first film’s formula.

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Yash’s Toxic has dropped its English-language trailer as the film’s worldwide release on August 26 draws closer.

The action thriller, directed by Geetu Mohandas, is set in a fictionalised Goa during the final years of Portuguese colonial rule, centring on power, betrayal and personal consequence.

Yash takes on a dual role in the film as Raya and Ticket, with the plot following characters navigating the city’s underworld through violence and strategic manipulation.

The trailer has been met with an enthusiastic response internationally, with viewers praising the natural English dialogue and the film’s ambitious production scale.

Toxic will release worldwide on August 26 across Kannada, Hindi, English, Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam in a coordinated multi-language rollout.

Billed as ‘Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-Ups,’ it is shaping up to be one of the biggest Kannada-language releases of the year.

North American distribution rights for the film have been secured by Prime Media Studios, with English and Kannada versions both set to screen in theatres there.

Kiara Advani joined the film’s cast in 2024 as the female lead, marking her Kannada-language debut, while Nayanthara signed on for a key role the following year.

Yash is best known internationally for the KGF franchise, which established him as one of Indian cinema’s biggest crossover stars ahead of Toxic’s global rollout.

The film’s title has been styled as ‘Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-Ups,’ a framing the makers say reflects the story’s darker, more adult take on a rise-and-fall narrative.

Toxic is directed by Geetu Mohandas, with Yash serving as co-writer and producer through his banner Monster Mind Creations.

The film’s action sequences were designed by Hollywood stunt coordinator J.J. Perry, known for his work on the John Wick and Fast & Furious franchises.

Toxic was shot simultaneously in English and Kannada rather than dubbed afterward, a choice the makers say gives the dialogue a more natural feel in both versions.

Photo by Bollywood Hungama, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0