{
  "id": 8409757,
  "title": "'Never Thought We Would Survive Opposite Toxic': Hanuman Ansh Producer Says Film Was Almost Out Of Theatres, Fell From 350 To 25-30 Screens",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/19/never-thought-we-would-survive-opposite-toxic-hanuman-ansh-producer",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-19T06:45:01.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Press Journal",
    "slug": "free-press-journal",
    "url": "https://www.freepressjournal.in/entertainment/never-thought-we-would-survive-opposite-toxic-hanuman-ansh-producer-says-film-was-almost-out-of-theatres-fell-from-350-to-25-30-screens"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Hanuman Ansh, a film based on the life and teachings of spiritual leader Neem Karoli Baba, has defied expectations to become a box office success. Producer Ragini Sona has revealed the film's challenging theatrical journey, which was nearly derailed by the arrival of rival releases Emraan Hashmi's Awarapan 2 and Yash's Toxic. Ragini explained that the film, originally released in 350 theatres, experienced a significant drop in screen count to just 25-30 during the second week following the competition. Despite this setback, business for Hanuman Ansh remained strong, providing a glimmer of hope to the team.\n\nRagini and director Vishal Chaturvedi made the difficult decision to continue the film's theatrical run at the eleventh hour, informing their distributors who agreed to support the decision. It took some time to convince others, but they eventually received approval to expand the film's reach in subsequent weeks. Ragini shared that the team bore the additional costs, believing that continued screenings would prove profitable. Indeed, the film's theatrical run had a turning point when it successfully continued for another week.\n\nRagini emphasized that the team never wanted Toxic to perform poorly, as a successful Toxic would benefit the entire industry. She expressed that their wish was for both films to thrive together. Initially, Hanuman Ansh was released on August 7 and had grossed over Rs 316.30 crore by its 43rd day of release.",
  "summary": "Hanuman Ansh, made on a budget of Rs 2 crore and based on the life and teachings of spiritual leader Neem Karoli Baba, has emerged as a surprise success at the box office. Now, producer Ragini Sona has opened up about the film’s difficult theatrical journey, revealing how Hanuman Ansh was almost out of theatres after its screen count took a sharp hit in the second week following the arrival of…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The Indian Express",
        "title": "‘Never thought that we would survive even one day opposite Toxic’: Hanuman Ansh producer",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/19/never-thought-that-we-would-survive-even-one-day-opposite-toxic",
        "published": "2026-09-19T02:34:28.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}