Yash’s Toxic has started its USA premiere advance sales with $46,483 from 2,068 tickets sold, 15 days ahead of its release. While the numbers are better than what the film managed around its earlier release date in March, the comparison with other big Telugu releases is not encouraging.
At the same stage, Prabhas’ The Raja Saab had reportedly collected $160,608 from 5,571 tickets. Ram Charan’s Peddi was even further ahead with $359,516 from 12,562 tickets.
The gap is particularly alarming when compared with Peddi, which had already sold more than six times as many tickets at the same stage.
The Telugu version is currently leading Toxic’s USA advance bookings. With 15 days still left, there is enough time for the film to accelerate. But the current trend suggests that Toxic has a lot of ground to cover.
Interestingly, The Raja Saab collected around $1.75 million from premieres and Day 1 in the USA, while Peddi managed around $1.9 million. Yet both films eventually crashed at the box office. The Raja Saab ended as an outright disaster, while Peddi also failed badly and finished as a colossal disaster.
That makes the current Toxic trend even more interesting.
Toxic is a much more expensive film than both The Raja Saab and Peddi, and the expectations surrounding Yash are also significantly high. At this stage, the film should ideally be showing stronger momentum in a key overseas market like the USA.
Of course, advance sales 15 days before release do not decide the final result. A major jump in bookings during the final week can completely change the picture. But for now, the numbers are certainly not matching the scale of the film.
The next two weeks will be crucial. If advance sales accelerate sharply, Toxic can still enter the release weekend with strong momentum. Otherwise, Yash’s much-hyped pan-India film could arrive with surprisingly low USA buzz.
And considering how The Raja Saab and Peddi performed after opening strong, Toxic needs both a big opening and strong legs. A massive Day 1 alone won’t be enough.
