Varun Dhawan's 'Baby John' underperforms, opens at ₹12.5cr
What's the story
Varun Dhawan's latest release, Baby John, opened to a modest note on Christmas Day, earning an estimated ₹12.5cr in India on its first day, per Sacnilk.
Despite the holiday advantage, the film failed to outshine Allu Arjun's Pushpa 2: The Rule which raked in ₹19.75cr on its 21st day in theaters.
Pushpa 2's continued dominance and Mufasa's success heavily affected Baby John's performance.
Performance analysis
'Baby John' underperformed despite high expectations
Featuring Dhawan in an action-packed role, Baby John was expected to earn ₹13cr on Wednesday but missed the mark.
The film, which also stars Keerthy Suresh, Wamiqa Gabbi, and Jackie Shroff, recorded a total Hindi occupancy of 24.97% with evening shows witnessing a higher occupancy rate of 30.89%.
Despite poor reviews, Baby John reportedly recorded Dhawan's best-ever opening at the box office in the last five years.
Career milestone
'Baby John' marked Dhawan's return to cinemas
Despite the stiff competition, Baby John was a milestone in Dhawan's career as it was his return to cinemas after his digital venture Citadel: Honey Bunny, which premiered in October.
Directed by Kalees, Baby John is the Hindi adaptation of the Tamil blockbuster, Theri, which starred Vijay.
Salman Khan makes a cameo in Baby John.