'Baby John' Day 1 Box Office Report: Varun Dhawan's Film Opens Slow, Lags Behind 'Pushpa 2' and 'Mufasa'

The much-anticipated Varun Dhawan-starrer, "Baby John," produced by Atlee and directed by Kalees, hit the theatres on Christmas Day but failed to make a big splash at the box office. The film managed to collect Rs 12.5 crore nett in India on its opening day, trailing behind the continuing success of "Pushpa 2" and "Mufasa."

Industry tracker Sacnilk reported that Allu Arjun's "Pushpa 2: The Rule," entering its third week, maintained its impressive earnings, raking in Rs 19.75 crore on its 21st day, with the Hindi version alone contributing Rs 15 crore nett. This impressive figure eclipsed "Baby John’s" first-day performance.

"Pushpa 2," already a nationwide hit, has garnered over Rs 1,109 crore nett in India. The Hindi version was a significant contributor with Rs 716.65 crore nett, complemented by Rs 316.3 crore nett from the Telugu version. The Tamil, Kannada, and Malayalam versions collected Rs 55.35 crore nett, Rs 14.07 crore nett, and Rs 7.48 crore nett, respectively.

Meanwhile, Disney’s animated feature "Mufasa: The Lion King" benefited from the holiday season, amassing Rs 14.25 crore nett on its sixth day, surpassing "Baby John’s" initial earnings. Overall, "Mufasa" has accumulated Rs 67.85 crore nett in the Indian market.

Despite featuring a strong cast including Keerthy Suresh, Jackie Shroff, and Wamiqa Gabbi, "Baby John" recorded a modest Hindi occupancy rate of 24.97% on its debut. Key areas such as Delhi-NCR and Mumbai reported occupancy rates of 25.75% from 1,046 shows and 26.25% from 801 shows, respectively.

Varun Dhawan returned to the main lead after two years, following his role in Amar Kaushik's 2022 film "Bhediya," which opened with Rs 7.48 crore nett and had a total domestic collection of Rs 66.65 crore nett.