Baby John, led by Varun Dhawan, had an overwhelming start at the box office. The film, directed by Kalees, was released on December 25. As per Sacnilk, the film earned an estimated Rs 4.75 crore on Day 5.
Varun Dhawan's big opener also saw “an overall 17.38% Hindi occupancy” on December 29, the report added. So far, the film has earned only Rs. 28.65 crore in the domestic market.
Bankrolled by A for Apple Productions, Cine1 Studios, and Jio Studios, Baby John is a remake of Atlee's 2016 Tamil film Theri.
Earlier, film critic and trade analyst Taran Adarsh commented upon Baby John's “underwhelming” opening-day performance despite the movie being released on Christmas.
He said, “Baby John is underwhelming on Day 1, benefiting primary from the Christmas holiday on Wednesday... The *pre-release* trends had projected an opening day in the ₹ 17 cr - ₹ 20 cr range, thanks to the festive boost, but as always, box office remains highly unpredictable.
"Baby John faced stiff competition from Pushpa 2 [in mass circuits] and Mufasa [in urban centres], which impacted its opening day biz... It's worth noting that Pushpa 2 continues to be a mighty opponent for *all* films. A midweek release coinciding with a major holiday typically ensures a strong opening day... However, Baby John must sustain its momentum till Sunday to achieve a respectable *extended* weekend total," wrote Adarsh.
Varun Dhawan's Baby John is facing tough competition from Allu Arjun's Pushpa 2: The Rule at the box office. The Allu Arjun movie was released on December 5.
Speaking on the blockbuster face-off, Atlee, who produced Baby John, told the media, "It's an ecosystem. Me and Allu Arjun sir are very good friends. We're releasing Baby John in the fourth week of December, not head to head. So, don't call it a clash. There's no conflict here. We're aware that Pushpa 2 was shifted from August to December, and we've planned our release [of Baby John] around Christmas. We're all professionals, and we know how to handle this."
