Varun Dhawan and his team must be reeling from the unexpected box-office performance of his latest release, Baby John. Touted as an action-thriller meant to reignite Varun’s box office dominance after a series of underwhelming releases, Baby John has instead turned out to be one of the actor’s poorest-performing films. This, despite having the backing of Atlee – the director behind Jawan, one of Bollywood’s biggest blockbusters – a solid set of trailers, and even the allure of a Salman Khan cameo. ‘Baby John’ Box Office Verdict – Hit or Flop: 5 Reasons Why Varun Dhawan-Keerthy Suresh’s ‘Theri’ Remake Is Turning Out To Be a Disaster.
Released in theatres on December 25, 2024, to capitalise on the Christmas holiday season, Baby John opened decently, earning INR 11.25 crore on its first day in India. However, the collections took a sharp nosedive. By the second Friday (following an extended first week due to its Wednesday release), the film had managed to net just INR 30.18 crore (box office figures sourced from Bollywood Hungama).
Watch the Trailer of ‘Baby John’:
This marks Baby John as one of Varun Dhawan’s lowest first-week earners, outperforming October but lagging behind several of his earlier releases:
1. October – INR 26.55 crore
2. Baby John – INR 30.18 crore (extended week)
3. Badlapur – INR 36.31 crore
4. Main Tera Hero – INR 38.48 crore
5. Bhediya – INR 42.05 crore
Interestingly, while October and Bhediya are considered average grossers based on their lifetime collections, and Badlapur and Main Tera Hero are certified hits, Baby John is firmly in flop territory. With a reported budget exceeding INR 150 crore, there seems to be little chance of financial recovery. The situation is worsened by piracy, as HD prints of the movie have leaked on torrent sites, further impacting its box office potential. ‘Baby John’ Movie Review: Varun Dhawan’s Swing at ‘Thalapathy’ Swagger Misses the Mark by Miles!
Baby John is the official Hindi remake of the 2016 Tamil blockbuster Theri, which starred Thalapathy Vijay, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, and Amy Jackson, and was directed by Atlee. The Hindi adaptation features Keerthy Suresh, Jackie Shroff, and Wamiqa Gabbi, and was helmed by Kalees, a former assistant to Atlee.
PS: Varun Dhawan’s highest opening week earnings come from Dilwale (2015) with INR 102.65 crore, followed by Judwaa 2 (2017) with INR 98.08 crore.
(The above story first appeared on Today News 24 on Jan 03, 2025 11:07 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website todaynews24.top).