Industry experts and exhibitors say the escalating tensions in the West Asia have turned out to be a blessing in disguise for “Dhurandhar 2” and “Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-Ups”, which were set to lock horns at the box office on March 19 but will now have solo releases.In a surprise announcement on Wednesday, the makers of “Toxic” said they have decided to move the film’s release to June 4, owing to geopolitical uncertainty which would impact its global and Gulf-region box office collection. The movie features Kannada superstar Yash.Part two of Aditya Dhar’s spy juggernaut “Dhurandhar”, starring Ranveer Singh, will now be the only big title releasing on March 19.”When two films release it’s a stressful time for the exhibition sector as the audience gets divided. For instance, if a cinema chain can have five shows, they’ve to give one movie three shows and another film, the remaining two shows,” trade expert Girish Wankhede told PTI.According to Wankhede, the industry feared losses up to Rs 150 crores due to the clash between the two big-ticket releases.”The Iran-Israel war is a blessing in disguise; the conflict has done good for the Indian cinema as ‘Dhurandhar 2’ and ‘Toxic’ will have solo releases,” he said.Kamal Gianchandani, CEO of PVR INOX Pictures, said while exhibitors are equipped to handle the simultaneous release of two big films, avoiding such a box office clash is a “win-win” situation.”For us, showcasing both the films on the same day was not a problem. It was beyond our and the producers’ control because of the ongoing war. The Middle East business is getting impacted, and that’s a big number for ‘Toxic’. We respect the decision of the producers of ‘Toxic’. Looking at the current situation, it is a good decision for both the films,” Gianchandani told PTI.The first part of “Dhurandhar” was released on December 5 and had performed exceedingly well, grossing Rs 1,300 crore, out of which Rs 1,000 crore came from the Indian market alone.The Hindi-language spy thriller didn’t find a release in the six Gulf countries Qatar, UAE, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia due to its alleged anti-Pakistan narrative, and the same is expected to be the case with its sequel as well.However, the second part will also release in four additional languages – Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada – as the makers hope to leverage the buzz around the film in the southern market.Devang Sampat, Managing Director of Cinepolis India, said “Dhurandhar 2” now enjoys a “clear runway” and added that the sequel is inheriting a massive audience base from the first film, which saw 3.6 crore footfalls.”The first film closed at approximately Rs. 894 crore net, it was the most-watched Bollywood film in the post-pandemic era. At Cinepolis, we are projecting over 10 lakh admissions across the four days including pre-shows on March 18, with occupancy expected to cross 80 per cent,” Sampat told PTI.”With ‘Toxic’ now anchoring the summer window, the release calendar for 2026 is stronger and more evenly distributed than it was a week ago,” he said.Experts believe that instead of splitting over 9,000 screens across India, both films are now poised to capture 80 to 90 per cent of all available screens during their respective solo windows.Raj Bansal, a prominent film distributor and director of Entertainment Paradise in Jaipur, said that “Toxic”, which primarily caters to the southern market, and “Dhurandhar 2″, which has a stronger appeal in the north, would have struggled to penetrate each other’s territories if they had clashed.With separate releases now, both films can maximise revenue across languages.”Both films will have an advantage of at least 20 percent. It’s a win-win situation,” Bansal told PTI.In central and western markets, the buzz is “sky high” for “Dhurandhar 2″, according to distributor-exhibitor Akshay Rathi, who is predicting an opening of Rs. 80 crores across India.“Dhurandhar 2” is red hot property, whether they release the promo or not, the movie is poised to open like a tsunami. It’s going to be a historic blockbuster. There’s strong buzz around ‘Toxic’ and whenever they choose to mount the campaign again, the movie will be red hot again,” Rathi, who owns theatres in Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, and Madhya Pradesh, told PTI.Calling the decision of the “Toxic” makers to shift the release date as “logical” and “sensible”, Vishek Chauhan, a Bihar-based exhibitor, said the two big-ticket films deserve “full attention of the audience across the world” Chauhan is pinning high hopes on “Dhurandhar 2” and said that the movie is “competing with itself.””It has every chance to exceed its predecessor. We will be disappointed if it doesn’t do that. ‘Dhurandhar 2’ has every opportunity to do well in both the North and South market.”What a film like ‘Dhurandhar 2’ does to the industry is that it gives it confidence and the industry needs to inspire the next wave of filmmakers to make the right product,” the exhibitor told PTI.Chennai-based trade analyst Ramesh Bala is hopeful that “Dhurandhar 2” and “Toxic” will have a bumper opening in the South and North market respectively.”The Hindi version of ‘Dhurandhar’ did well in South and the sequel too will do well and it should open at Rs. 50 to 60 crores in South, which has over 3,500 screens. ‘Toxic’ too will also have a lion’s share in the north,” Bala told PTI