As per the present advance trends, showcasing, and the Christmas holiday factor, Baby John should be looking at a start around the Rs 13 crore mark. Detailed Report
Varun Dhawan makes his foray into action with the Atlee, Murad Khetani and Jio Studios produced Baby John directed by Kalees. The film is all set to be the big theatrical release from the Hindi Film Industry during the Christmas 2024 weekend. Baby John has been certified U/A by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) with an approved run time of 2 hours 41 minutes (161 minutes).
The film is seeing an All-India release with PVRInox Pictures as the distributors and as per present trends, the release size seems to be in the range of 2750 screens to 3000 screens. While it’s a solo release on December 25 on the face of it, Baby John is actually in a 3-way clash scenario as two holdover releases – Pushpa 2 and Mufasa – are continuing to rake in strong numbers at the box office in Hindi markets. In terms of showcasing, Baby John is aiming at 10,000 shows in India, though the final count will be known only by Wednesday morning.
As on Tuesday at 6 PM, Baby John has sold around 44,000 tickets in the top 3 national chains – PVRInox and Cinepolis – and is looking to close in the North of 60,000 tickets. While PVRInox has sold 37,000 tickets, Cinepolis pre-sales are around 7,500 tickets. The film was facing troubles with showcasing due to the semi-clash scenario, especially in the single screens and non-national chains, and the fight continues even now. The final advance booking in national chains will be the highest for Varun Dhawan in the post pandemic world, bettering Jug Jugg Jeeyo and Bhediya. https://www.youtube.com/embed/zzuaFHfbSS8
As per the present advance trends, showcasing, and the Christmas holiday factor, the Varun Dhawan starrer should be looking at a start around the Rs 13 crore mark. With the right walk-ups and positive talk on the Holiday, there is an outside chance for Rs 15 crore too, but the ideal range seems to be around the Rs 13 crore mark at the moment.
There is a prolonged holiday period in the opening week until January 1, and the right talks in the audience could push the film towards healthy results in the first week and hit the century too, as there is 0 competition from the Hindi Film Industry until the arrival of Sky Force on Republic Day. A start in the range of Rs 13 crore would be a healthy result for Baby John in the competition scenario and a Rs 15 crore start would push it towards the good range, but it’s all on the walk-in and the reception in the mass belts through the day.
