With anticipation reaching a fever pitch for Varun Dhawan’s upcoming comedic venture Hai Jawani To Ishq Hona Hai—directed by David Dhawan and co-starring Mrunal Thakur and Pooja Hegde—the spotlight is firmly back on the actor’s commercial drawing power. Coming fresh off the historic, monumental success of Border 2 and the stable box office business of Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari, Varun is widely regarded as one of modern Bollywood's most bankable stars.

Statistically, his track record is incredibly resilient. Since making his high-profile debut in 2012, the actor has featured in approximately 18 theatrical releases across his 14-year career, with a staggering 14 of them classified as outright commercial successes. However, when a Varun Dhawan film does miss the mark, the financial fallout is massive.

Here is a breakdown of the four rare box office disasters in Varun Dhawan’s career that left producers facing steep financial deficits.

1. October (2018) — The First Stumble

Before 2018, Varun Dhawan enjoyed an unprecedented, flawless streak where every single one of his releases was categorized as either a hit, super-hit, or semi-hit. That pristine record met its first roadblock with the avant-garde slice-of-life drama October.

   [ Budget: ₹40 Crores ] ────► [ Worldwide Gross: ₹67 Crores ]
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                        Result: Commercial Failure

• The Blueprint: Directed by the visionary Shoojit Sircar, this unconventional narrative starred Varun alongside Banita Sandhu, Geetanjali Rao, and Sahil Vidulia.

• The Economics: Despite clocks tracking at a crisp runtime of 1 hour and 15 minutes, the film cost a considerable ₹40 crore to produce. It struggled to find a mainstream theatrical audience, grossing just ₹67 crore worldwide.

• The Silver Lining: While a box office flop, the film achieved critical acclaim and holds a strong 7.8 IMDb rating. It is currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video.

2. Kalank (2019) — The Mega-Budget Trainwreck

Exactly a year after October, Varun Dhawan suffered the most expensive and high-profile failure of his career with the multi-starrer period tragedy Kalank.

• The Blueprint: Directed by Abhishek Varman, the film boasted an ensemble cast featuring Bollywood royalty: Varun Dhawan, Alia Bhatt, Sanjay Dutt, Sonakshi Sinha, Madhuri Dixit, and Aditya Roy Kapur.

• The Economics: The makers mounted this 2-hour, 45-minute epic on a staggering budget of ₹150 crore. However, heavy negative word-of-mouth derailed its box office run, causing it to stall out at a worldwide lifetime gross of just ₹146 crore—failing even to recover its basic cost of production. It currently holds a dismal 3.8 rating on IMDb and is streaming on Amazon Prime Video.

3. Street Dancer 3D (2020) — The Dance Sensation That Flipped

Hoping to bounce back from the Kalank disaster, Varun reunited with director Remo D'Souza and his ABCD 2 co-star Shraddha Kapoor for the high-octane musical Street Dancer 3D.

• The Blueprint: Flanked by an energetic cast including Nora Fatehi, Prabhu Deva, Raghav Juyal, Sonam Bajwa, and Shakti Mohan, the film aimed to capture the massive youth dance demographic.

• The Economics: Production and marketing costs ballooned heavily, running upwards of an estimated ₹80 to ₹100 crore. According to industry trackers like SciNiq, the 2-hour, 26-minute film collapsed under its own weight, scraping together a worldwide haul of only ₹102 crore. Saddled with a 3.8 IMDb rating, it joined the list of Varun's consecutive flops on Amazon Prime Video.

4. Baby John (2024) — The Remake Misfire

Released during the competitive Christmas window on December 25, 2024, Baby John was expected to be a massive action breakthrough for the actor, but it ultimately turned into a box office nightmare.

The Remake Deficit

Directed by Kallis, this 2-hour, 41-minute action extravaganza was the official Hindi adaptation of Thalapathy Vijay's Tamil blockbuster Theri. Despite packing massive star power with Keerthy Suresh, Wamiqa Gabbi, Sanya Malhotra, Jackie Shroff, and an extended cameo by Salman Khan, the numbers were devastating:

• Production Budget: ₹160 to ₹180 crore

• Worldwide Box Office Gross: ₹61 crore

• Net Verdict: Massive Disaster

Despite its dismal box office performance, the film holds a 5 rating on IMDb and has transitioned to home media on Amazon Prime Video.