Baby John Box Office Collection Day 1: Varun Dhawan's Film Fails To Beat Allu Arjun Starrer Pushpa 2's Record

Despite being released during the holiday season, ‘Baby John’ struggled to make an impact at the box office.

‘Baby John’ is a remake of the 2016 Tamil action thriller ‘Theri’.

Source : IMDb

Varun Dhawan’s ‘Baby John’ had a lukewarm opening on Christmas Day, earning Rs 12.5 crore on its first day, according to industry tracker Sacnilk. Directed by Kalees and produced by Atlee, this marks Varun's first foray into the mass action genre.

Varun Dhawan’s Baby John box office collection

Despite being released during the holiday season, ‘Baby John’ struggled to make an impact at the box office. The film recorded a 24.97% Hindi occupancy on its opening day, with 1046 shows in Delhi-NCR (25.75% occupancy) and 801 shows in Mumbai (26.25% occupancy). However, it couldn't surpass the impressive earnings of ‘Pushpa 2: The Rule’ or ‘Mufasa: The Lion King’.

In comparison, ‘Pushpa 2’, now in its third week, earned Rs 19.75 crore on its 21st day, with Rs 15 crore from Hindi shows alone. ‘Mufasa’, also enjoying a multilingual release, raked in Rs 14.25 crore on its sixth day, boosted by the holiday season.

#OneWordReview...#BabyJohn: MASS-MASALA.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️½
Hardcore mass entertainer packaged with striking action pieces... Boasts of some solid, clapworthy moments, despite tried-and-tested formula... #VarunDhawan, in mass mode, in super form. #BabyJohnReview

An adaptation of… pic.twitter.com/NZGgBFu8Ix

— taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) December 25, 2024

Baby John review

The ABP Live review of the film reads: A comparison to the original was inevitable. The filmmakers claimed this was an adaptation, not a remake, but many scenes are frame-by-frame copies. The action feels old-school, and in a time when action films have evolved, ‘Baby John’ lags behind. Recently, Malayalam cinema’s ‘Marco’ raised the bar for violence and action choreography. In contrast, the action scenes in ‘Baby John’, especially those involving Salman Khan and Varun Dhawan, look artificial. Vijay’s presence in ‘Theri’ was electrifying, but Varun Dhawan doesn’t match up. Every scene reminds you of the original, and even if you haven’t watched ‘Theri’, this film doesn’t hold your attention. Some sequences come across as childish, even laughable. The poorly placed, irritating songs further test the audience’s patience. Ultimately, you feel like revisiting the original rather than sitting through this version.

Produced by Atlee, his wife Priya, Murad Khetani, and Jyoti Deshpande, ‘Baby John’ is a remake of the 2016 Tamil action thriller ‘Theri’. The film features Varun Dhawan in a completely new avatar. Alongside Varun, the cast includes Keerthy Suresh, Wamiqa Gabbi, and Jackie Shroff in pivotal roles.