‘Baby John’, starring Varun Dhawan, Keerthy Suresh, Jackie Shroff, Wamiqa Gabbi, Zara Zyanna, Rajpal Yadav, and Salman Khan in a special cameo appearance, is directed by Kalees. Varun Dhawan plays the role of an honest and dutiful police officer, DCP Satya Verma IPS, who quits his job and leads a secluded life with his little daughter, Khushi, and owns a small bakery in Alappuzha. The film is co-produced and co-written by Jawan fame Atlee. Baby John was released in cinemas worldwide on 25th December 2024.
Baby John’s Box-office Collection Reports, till Day 3
In spite of being an action entertainer, the film opened to dismally decent figures at the box-office. According to Sacnilk, Baby John collected around Rs. 11.25 Cr on its first day (India net box-office collection). The first day India gross collection stood at Rs. 13.50 Cr, while the first day worldwide collection stood at Rs. 16.50 Cr. In spite of releasing on a national holiday, the film opened to an overall occupancy of around 25% on December 25th, 2024.
The film’s collection dipped further on the second and third days, signalling that Baby John might trail behind other action films that were released in 2024. Considering the fact that the film’s budget is Rs. 180 Cr, Baby John will have to strongly hold its own during the festive season to emerge as a box-office hit.
The film’s release during the holiday period might give it an edge, but it looks like the future performance of Baby John will largely depend on its ability to maintain momentum by gaining positive reviews and positive word-of-mouth.
Why Varun Dhawan’s ‘Baby John’ is Currently Underperforming at the Box-office
1. Pushpa 2’s brilliant performance at the box-office continues.
The action film, ‘Pushpa The Rule – Part 2’, continues to perform strongly at the box-office even after twenty days of its release due to several factors. The film’s thrilling storyline, high-octane action sequences, and commendable acting performances have attracted a broad audience. Positive word-of-mouth and strong reviews have kept the audiences returning to the big screen to watch the film. The Hindi-speaking audiences have been showing an inclination for South Indian films since the last few years, resulting in the massive success of Tamil and Telugu films which are released in dubbed (Hindi) versions in North India.
Additionally, Pushpa 2 benefits from extended showtimes and international appeal, proving that the film has no major competitor. Baby John, another action entertainer, gives little to no competition to Pushpa 2, allowing Pushpa 2 to benefit from a lack of competition in its genre. The film’s blend of excitement, visual spectacle, and strong marketing ensures that it maintains unshakable momentum well into its fourth week. National award winner Allu Arjun has proved his acting prowess and star power by establishing Pushpa 2 as the highest-grossing film ever in the Hindi market. Furthermore, Pushpa 2 earned much more than Baby John on Christmas Day, proving that the film provides tough competition to all new releases.
2. Mufasa: The Lion King is performing well in urban circuits.
‘Mufasa: The Lion King’ is performing exceptionally well at the box-office in urban circuits after a week of its release due to its broad appeal to families and fans of all ages. The film is a blend of stunning animation, captivating visuals, heartwarming story, and beloved characters. Its universal appeal to both children and adults has driven high footfalls in cities, resonating with the audiences and driving repeated viewings. The English version, as well as the Hindi version dubbed by Shah Rukh Khan, and the Telugu and Tamil versions, have been garnering massive footfalls in the urban areas, resulting in increased showtimes.
Positive reviews, strong word-of-mouth, and targeted marketing campaigns have further fuelled the film’s success. The film’s soundtrack, merchandise and global appeal further contribute to its sustained success, ensuring continued strong performance in urban areas, giving tough competition to the freshest release in town – Baby John.
3. Varun Dhawan’s stardom and popularity – waning due to “out of sight, out of mind” effect?
A movie star who does not release a new film in the cinemas for two years risks losing connection with fans and audiences, leading to an “out of sight, out of mind” effect. Nowadays, in the entertainment industry, fans quickly move on to new trends and new faces, with rapidly changing tastes and preferences. The long hiatus may make audiences lose interest and connection, diminishing the star’s relevance and star power. When the actor finally returns with a new big screen release after two years, the lack of recent visibility and momentum can result in a disappointing box-office performance. Can Baby John’s initial failure at the box-office be partially attributed to this factor? Maybe, yes.
Moreover, Varun Dhawan is an actor who is celebrated more often for his comedy films. A movie star known and celebrated for comedy may struggle to transition into an action role and immediately connect with the audiences and their expectations. Fans associate Varun Dhawan with light-hearted, comedic characters, making it difficult or alarming for them to suddenly accept a sharp shift to intense action sequences and thrilling stunts.
The star’s image, developed over time, might not align with the physicality and seriousness required in action-oriented films. Resultantly, viewers may find it hard to connect with the actor in this new and unfamiliar genre, leading to a lukewarm reception. Additionally, it may also be difficult for the actor to quickly transition into a new character that caters to a new genre, and emerge as sufficiently convincing. I doubt whether the audiences will be able to connect with Varun Dhawan in the avatar of an action hero after repeatedly watching him in light-hearted romantic-comedies and slapstick comedy films.
4. Baby John lacks novelty as it is an official Hindi remake of a popular Tamil film called Theri.
A film that is a remake of a previous hit may struggle at the box-office due to several factors. Audiences often expect a fresh and original experience and may feel disappointed by the lack of novelty in a remake. If the original film is too beloved, it leads to comparisons with the new version, making it difficult for the remake to stand out and attract the attention of the viewers. Additionally, the new version may fail to capture the magic, essence, and emotional connection of the original film, leaving fans unsatisfied and upset. If the remake does not bring in something new or unique, it risks underperforming at the box-office despite high hopes and expectations.
As far as Baby John is concerned, it is an official Hindi adaptation of Theri which was released in 2016. The Tamil film Theri stars Thalapathy Vijay in the lead role. Thalapathy Vijay is one of the most celebrated actors in Indian cinema, and his movies have a universal appeal, catering to fans and audiences of all kinds and ages. Before the pandemic, people who speak Hindi would not generally watch Tamil films or Hindi-dubbed versions of Tamil films. However, the pandemic gave rise to the trend of Hindi-speaking people watching Hindi-dubbed versions of popular Tamil and Telugu films.
The trend continues to date. Hence, it is estimated that many people have already watched Theri as a result of which they already know the story and concept of the film. Why would people who know the story of the film flock to the theatres to watch its Hindi remake when it releases? I believe that the Bollywood industry should avoid coming up with remakes of popular South Indian films, and instead come up with original content-driven films that will urge the audiences to return to the theatres in large numbers.
5. Mixed early reviews, poor word-of-mouth, and lack of hype have adversely affected Baby John’s performance at the box-office.
A film’s box-office performance can be severely affected by mixed reviews, poor hype, and negative word-of-mouth. If critics and fans provide mixed reviews or unfavourable feedback, potential viewers may be discouraged from watching the film. The pandemic has given rise to the trend of watching films on OTT platforms. Hence, many people, these days, wait for the OTT release of a film and skip watching it in the cinema hall to save their money and time.
Additionally, lack of adequate hype, lack of strong pre-release buzz, and ineffective marketing strategies can fail to generate initial interest, while poor word-of-mouth from early viewers may further tarnish the film’s reputation and performance. As negative opinions spread, more and more people might opt to skip watching the film, resulting in reduced ticket sales. Baby John might struggle to recover and succeed, given how these combined factors are leading to a significant downward spiral, making it difficult for the Varun Dhawan-starrer to survive amidst the frenzy and mania for Pushpa The Rule: Part 2.
Baby John: Overview
All in all, it is safe to say that Baby John is performing underwhelmingly poorly at the box-office due to mixed or negative reviews, poor word-of-mouth, and failed marketing strategies. Additionally, it continues to face stiff competition from other popular releases such as Pushpa 2, and lacks adequate star power. Furthermore, the direction, storyline, and execution might fail to resonate with the target audience, creating a void and leading to weak ticket sales.
According to Sacnilk, Baby John has not even touched the Rs. 20 Cr (India net box-office collection) mark so far (till Day 3), making it difficult for the film to recover its budget before the Bollywood industry witnesses the release of new films in the new year. As an ardent fan of Varun Dhawan since childhood, I do hope that things start looking brighter for the film. Although the film does not seem compelling enough to generate sufficient buzz and attract a wide audience that is enthusiastic, I hope that things do not dampen any further and Baby John gets the “hit” status.
Following Baby John’s Failure, Key Box-office Takeaways and Lessons for Bollywood in 2024
All things considered, there is no fixed or defined formula or template for a Bollywood film to become a box-office hit in the era of rapidly-changing tastes and preferences. One can only hope and expect, and work hard, but analysing the moods and wants of the audiences and delivering content accordingly – is becoming increasingly difficult these days.
According to a detailed analytical report by Pinkvilla, a total of 32 major Hindi films were released in 2024. These films collected approximately Rs. 2,500 Cr at the box-office, labelling 2024 as a weak and disastrous year for the Bollywood film industry since 2012. This figure indicates a steady decline in the success rate of Hindi films in 2024, considering how the Hindi film industry collected a total of Rs. 4,418 Cr in 2023.
This year, the highest-grossing movies were horror-comedy films, marking a swift shift from action to horror-comedy in 2024. Stree 2: Sarkate Ka Aatank, Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3, and Munjya became some of the biggest blockbusters of the year, bringing in audiences in large numbers to the cinemas. While Stree 2 and Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 are parts of popular horror-comedy franchises, Munjya, a part of the Maddock Supernatural Universe, emerged as a sleeper hit, collecting more than Rs. 100 Cr upon its release, despite being a non-star cast film.
On the other hand, action films such as Fighter and Singham Again performed decently well, emerging as average performers at the box-office. Contrary to 2024, 2023 saw a number of successful action entertainers – Pathaan, Jawan, Animal, Gadar 2, and Tiger 3, establishing Shah Rukh Khan and Ranbir Kapoor as the most bankable Bollywood stars of the year. However, in 2024, a number of action entertainers tanked at the box-office. To name a few, these were Bade Miyan Chote Miyan, Crakk, Yodha, Bhaiyya Ji, Kill, Vedaa, Jigra, Yudhra, and Ruslaan. Unfortunately, the latest Hindi release – Baby John, co-produced by Atlee, looks like the newest addition to this list. This film might prove to be a major setback in the careers of both Varun Dhawan and Atlee.
Other films which performed poorly at the box-office this year were Ajay Devgn’s Maidaan, Kartik Aaryan’s Chandu Champion, Kiran Rao’s Laapataa Ladies, Vijay Sethupathi’s Merry Christmas, Rajkummar Rao and Triptii Dimri’s Vicky Vidya Ka Woh Wala Video, and Akshay Kumar’s Sarfira and Khel Khel Mein.
What the viewers want these days is variety, proving how variety is the spice of life. Films in varied genres – from action to comedy, horror, romantic-comedies, and love stories – the viewers want to be served platters, giving them the choice to decide which kinds of films they wish to consume.
Discussing about remakes – Baby John, the official Hindi remake of the Tamil film Theri, is currently performing miserably at the box-office. Baby John has been facing criticism and backlash for being a remake of a South Indian film and for lacking novelty – ever since the film’s title was announced.
However, it is, again, difficult to ascertain whether a remake of a previous hit will work well at the Hindi box-office. While it is true that remakes lack freshness and originality and have a chance of performing dismally at the box-office due to lack of novelty and unavoidable comparisons, an exception from 2024 is Ajay Devgn’s supernatural-horror film – Shaitaan. Shaitaan, a remake of a Gujarati film titled Vash, performed wonders at the box-office upon its release, earning Rs. 145 Cr and securing the clean “hit” tag.
Telugu films, on the contrary, seemed to resonate better with the Hindi-speaking audiences, providing a window to the exhibitors for earning revenue from non-Bollywood films. Films such as Pushpa The Rule: Part 02 and Kalki 2898 A.D. performed exceedingly well at the box-office, bringing in large revenue, as people enjoyed watching the Hindi-dubbed versions of these popular South Indian films.
2023 was all about action, but 2024 has been all about horror-comedies and popular franchises (sequels and threequels). While it is hard to assess what kinds of films will perform well at the box-office, maintaining an experimental approach, and bringing in different varieties and flavours – might help the Bollywood film industry to revive and garner organic figures at the box-office in the upcoming years. Following emerging trends and recent developments in tastes and preferences, coupled with increasing the number of major releases throughout the year – might contribute to higher Hindi box-office numbers in 2025.
I also hope that the final major Bollywood release of 2024, Baby John, performs slightly better at the box-office, bringing in better reviews and higher numbers.
(Images from Instagram and Twitter; used for representational purposes only)