Well the verdict has come in albeit a little earlier than we thought. From this mornings Hindustan Times:

K3G isn’t a hit, but it’s not a miss either
Poonam Saxena
(New Delhi, December 21)

It was tipped to smash all box office records. But while Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (K3G) is bringing its distributors lots of khushi, there's also some gham. First the good news. K3G, said to be India's most expensive film, with a budget of Rs 35-plus crore, is poised to become a big hit overseas. In India too, it is doing phenomenally well in metros.
Now for the gham. Despite the hype, K3G will only be the No. 2 box office hit of the year. (The number one slot still belongs to the blockbuster Gadar - Ek Prem Katha). Also, director Karan Johar's three-and-a-half hour family saga is slipping in smaller cities and towns. Says trade analyst Komal Nahta, "In trade parlance it's an overflow film." In other words, distributors stand to recover what they paid for the rights to the film (Rs 3.5 crore) as well as the cost of prints and publicity (another crore). In addition, there's the "overflow", which is estimated at 25-40 per cent of the distributor's total cost. In this case that's likely to amount to over a crore for every distributor.

Manoj Desai, a prominent Mumbai exhibitor who is playing K3G in his theatres, says he has had 42 straight housefull shows for two weeks. "People said Karan's first film, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, was a fluke," he says. "But this film proves that isn't true. After 12 successive flops over three months, this film has really bailed the industry out."

Despite the huge star cast and traditional family theme, the film is not wowing the hinterland.

According to Nahta, "Johar's Kuch Kuch Hota Hai was from the heart, K3G is from the brain. And Indian audiences like their films from the heart." The length of the film (three-and-a-half hours), and its upper class sensibility are some of the other reasons why analysts say it isn't pulling in the crowds in smaller towns.

Director Karan Johar says he is delighted with the film's performance. "I'm not bothered about figures," he says. "The important thing is that my film has worked. I've made people cry a little, smile a little." Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham.

And yet another view from the BBC - summary - done good overseas but not as expected in India;

http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi....887.stm

Ali

But regardless it is the no.2 hit of the year after Gadar.. in jsut 2 weeks of release... so it may not have surpassed gadar's collections but hey it has not done badly..... it may not be faring too good in the interiors but films like DCH and Lagaan didnt either...... in delhi my friends informed me the cinemas were booked for the next 2 weeks.....

filmibuff, I think its not the 2nd biggest hit in 2 weeks. Maybe its the second biggest hit considering only 2 weeks. But i think its more likely the extrapolated income of K3G would make it the 2nd biggest hit (Thats how most trade magazines report stuff. Of course we have to wait for a longer time if you want to be doubly sure)

Anyway, What happened to all the guys that think that somehow the people out of Indian have a superior taste or whatever? How do you guys explain this (K3G being the biggest hit ever out of India but just a hit in India).

I would love to hear some elitist opinions

what abt this quote then
"Now for the gham. Despite the hype, K3G will only be the No. 2 box office hit of the year. (The number one slot still belongs to the blockbuster Gadar - Ek Prem Katha)."

yeah overall probably it will be the no. 2 hit which will only be clear after it has ran for a couple of weeks like gadar did.....
i need to get some end of year figure soon by next week....