In the U.S., Baby's Day Out did not reach the dizzying heights of John Hughes' earlier hits. With a production budget estimated at $48 million, the film's domestic gross was considered disappointing by studio executives.
Although it was a commercial failure in the United States, Baby's Day Out found an astonishing second life thousands of miles away in the . The film’s slapstick comedy and themes of an innocent child outsmarting evil adults resonated deeply with Indian audiences. In a later obituary for John Hughes, the legendary film critic Roger Ebert recounted a visit to the largest movie theater in Calcutta: "I asked if 'Star Wars' had been their most successful American film. No, I was told, it was 'Baby's Day Out,' a Hughes comedy... which played for more than a year". babys day out 1994 2021
By 2021, many of the film's stars had continued their careers: In the U