Toxic.

Social media has erupted with memes, reels and comments against producer-distributor Dil Raju, after Ravi Teja’s Irumudi, which was reportedly recording sensational collections, was abruptly removed from several theatres to make way for Yash’s Telugu-dubbed film Toxic.

Irumudi had reportedly earned Rs 52 crore of Rs 83 crore gross, and was projected to touch the Rs 200-crore mark in the near future.

“In a theatre in Mahbubnagar, audiences raised slogans and forced the management to screen Irumudi instead of Toxic,” says producer-distributor Natti Kumar.

Nearly 250 theatres across the two Telugu states were allocated to Toxic at the expense of Irumudi, he claimed and expressed the view that the decision was “unfair.” According to him, around 30 theatres restored Irumudi by late evening, while another 100-plus theatres are expected to bring the film back in the next couple of days on the back of the dip in Toxic collections.

Distributor-exhibitor Sirish Reddy, Dil Raju’s brother, also faced criticism over Toxic ticket price hikes. An earlier video of Sirish assuring audiences in Telangana that he would not increase ticket prices even if the government permitted the hike has gone viral on internet.

With around Rs 80 crore reportedly at stake for Toxic, Dil Raju, who acquired the Telugu dubbing rights, opted for enhanced ticket prices in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. “The film had a good opening, collecting around Rs 22 crore on Day One. But it is likely to drop by around 50 percent on Day Two and may continue to decline, as the film has received more negative than positive comments. We have to see how it performs in the coming days,” says Natti Kumar.

Meanwhile, there are reports that KVN Productions and Yash may compensate Telugu distributors for their losses if Toxic fails to reach the agreed-upon target of Rs 80 crore. “That would amount to substantial relief,” Natti Kumar notes.

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