Varun Dhawan’s Baby John, which cost ₹160 crore, earned only ₹47 crore, making it the final box office failure of 2024.

After a week in theaters, Baby John’s box office collections have yet to exceed ₹50 crore, indicating a negative outlook for the Varun Dhawan-starring film.

Varun Dhawan, the principal actor in Kalees’ mass entertainment film Baby John, took on an ambitious endeavor. The actor hoped that the film would be his first foray into the mainstream action genre, propelling him to the ranks of Bollywood’s A-listers. If the last few years have taught us anything, it’s that everyone prefers the mass action treatment. Everyone has it, including Shah Rukh Khan and Manoj Bajpayee. However, Baby John was completely ineffective. It failed to please the critics and did not connect with the audience. The end result was a disaster that bombed at the box office.

On day 8, the box office earnings for Varun Dhawan’s flick Baby John surpassed ₹35 crore.

Baby John, the box-office disaster

Baby John, a remake (or adaptation, as the makers argue) of Atlee’s Theri, is a scene-for-scene duplicate of the original. In other places, it tries something fresh and makes you wish it didn’t. The film’s marketing and promotions were likewise underwhelming, failing to generate the necessary enthusiasm. The film’s debut of ₹12 crore was dismal for a mass entertainer. Bad reviews resulted in negative word of mouth, and the picture has been in free fall since. By its eighth day, Baby John had made only ₹35 crore in India and ₹47 crore globally. The film’s reported ₹160 crore budget resulted in poor returns. The fact that the film opened in 4300 theaters across the country, which has been cut to just 1800 after eight days, demonstrates how catastrophic the downturn for Baby John has been.

According to trade insiders, the picture is expected to earn less than ₹60 crore net, resulting in a theoretical loss of ₹100 crore for the producers. While the final decision on its box office performance is pending, several trade pundits have already declared it a catastrophe.

Why did Baby John go down?

On the surface, Baby John had everything going for it: a popular performer, Atlee backing it, and a decent plot (as seen by Theri’s success). However, the formula was all theory. In terms of practicality, Baby John has nothing to offer. Varun lacks the screen presence to carry the action, so it appears to be a satire rather than a remake. He makes an appealing, if funny, hero. However, in mass action, he fell short. The plot’s lackluster presentation made matters worse. Kalees lacks Atlee’s skill in reinventing the old and presenting it as new. And Salman Khan’s appearance was more groan-inducing than impressive.

Audiences have shown a desire to watch more massy films that follow a formula, but only if the presentation is nice. Jawan, Pathaan, and Gadar 2 demonstrated that. However, Tiger 3 and Bhaiyaa Ji fell short. Baby John suffered the most severe fall. Perhaps its failure will inspire Bollywood producers to pause and reflect, seeing that format alone will not propel a picture forward if everything else is hollow.