January 02, 2025 01:18 PM IST
Even after one week in theatres, the box office collection of Baby John has not even crossed ₹50 crore, which is an inauspicious sign for the Varun Dhawan-starrer.
Kelly’s mass entertainer Baby John was an ambitious project for its lead actor Varun Dhawan. The actor wanted this film to be his entry in the mass action genre, allowing him to establish himself as a potential A-lister in Bollywood. If the last few years have shown anything, it’s that everyone wants mass action treatments. From Shahrukh Khan to Manoj Bajpayee, everyone has got it. But Baby John didn’t work at all. It failed to please critics and did not connect with fans. The end result was that it flopped at the box office. ,Also read: Baby John box office collection Day 8: No growth in Varun Dhawan’s film, finally crosses 35 crores,
Baby John, a box office disaster
A remake of Atlee’s Theri (sorry, as the producers insist), Baby John is to some extent a scene-by-scene copy of the original. In other parts, it tries to do something new, and you wish it hadn’t. The marketing and promotion of the film was also slow, which did not generate the expected buzz. This resulted in the tremendous introduction of the bus 12 crores, very little for a mass entertainer. The poor reviews led to negative buzz and the film has been in a steady decline since then. By day eight Baby John has earned a good amount 35 crore more in India 47 crores worldwide. Given that the film has been put on a report Budget of Rs 160 crore, these are very disappointing returns. How bad the decline is for Baby John can be gauged from the fact that the film got 4300 shows across the country, which came down to just 1800 after eight days.
Trade insiders estimate that the film will close below 60 crore nett, meaning producers face estimated losses 100 crores. While the final verdict on its box office performance is awaited, many trade pundits are already calling it a disaster.
Why did Baby John build the tank?
On the surface, Baby John had everything in its favor – huge style, a popular star, Atlee was backing it, and a solid plot (evident from Theri’s success). But the sutras were all theories. In practicality, Baby John has nothing going for it. It feels more like a spoof than a remake, with Varun lacking the screen presence to pull off large-scale action. He has a good presence as a charming or even goofy hero. But they were found lacking in collective action. The stale treatment of the plot didn’t help. Kelly’s lacks Attlee’s knack for packaging the old and presenting it as fresh. And Salman Khan’s cameo was more groan-inducing than awe-inspiring.
Audiences have expressed a desire to see more comprehensive films that fit into a formula, but only if the presentation is clean. Jawan, Pathan and Gadar 2 showed this. On the other hand, Tiger 3 and Bhaiya Ji lagged behind. Baby John fell hardest. Maybe its failure will make Bollywood producers pause and realize that formula alone won’t help a film take off if everything else is hollow.
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