Varun Dhawan’s 'Baby John' Records ₹16.5 Crore on Day 1 Worldwide; Faces Competition from Pushpa 2

Varun Dhawan's latest action thriller, Baby John, directed by Kalees and produced by Jawan-fame Atlee, registered a worldwide box office collection of ₹16.5 crore on its opening day. According to tracking website Sacnilk, the film earned ₹11.25 crore (net) and ₹13.5 crore (gross) in India.

The movie opened with an overall 24.97% occupancy in Hindi across the country on December 25. Evening shows saw the highest turnout at 30.89% occupancy, followed by afternoon shows at 28.77%, night shows at 26.28%, and morning shows at 13.92%.

While Baby John faced stiff competition from Allu Arjun's Pushpa 2: The Rule, currently in its third week, it marked Varun Dhawan's best opening in five years. His previous high was in 2019 with Kalank, which earned ₹21.60 crore on its first day. In contrast, his recent theatrical releases—Street Dancer 3D (2020), Jug Jugg Jeeyo (2022), and Bhediya (2022)—failed to achieve double-digit opening numbers.

About the Film

The film features Varun Dhawan, Keerthy Suresh, and Wamiqa Gabbi in lead roles, with Jackie Shroff and Rajpal Yadav in pivotal roles. Bollywood superstar Salman Khan makes a cameo appearance. A remake of the Tamil film Theri, which starred Vijay, Baby John tells the story of a cop who goes into hiding to protect his daughter. However, when her life is threatened, he must confront his past to ensure her safety.

Released in theaters on December 25, the film opened to mixed reviews. The Hindustan Times commented, "The film starts off on a very choppy note, and there’s no soul for about 40 minutes." The review added, "There’s no sense of direction, and the cute girl bossing around her dad has no effect. Atlee, who has earlier delivered Jawan as a director and Theri as well, is responsible for the story here. The hero playing a double role seems to be his favourite. He did the same with Shah Rukh Khan in Jawan. Oh, another thing he loves is the pigeons. He loves using them to create a flutter, literally. Copy pasted from Jawan here. There's also a social message thrown in for good measure. But it amounts to a mish-mash."

Despite the mixed response, Baby John remains a major Christmas release and continues to battle for audience attention alongside Pushpa 2.