of the film, also expressing dissatisfaction with its length. He remarked, "I feel older. A showing of Karan Johar's mammoth 22-reel Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna has left me unbelievably exhausted. I walked out of the hall feeling my cheeks for stubble, wondering if my clothes are suddenly dated and my hair's turned grey. I've lost a sizable chunk of my life, and you will too." Unlike other critics, he identified flaws in the script and criticized the strength of characters saying "The characters are cardboard, the setting is glitzy, the songs are tiresome, and the story oscillates between high melodrama and slapstick hilarity, going nowhere. Rarely has a weak script relied so completely on pretty people with big names to carry every line through". In the United States, the film received a number of positive reviews. Critics such as Neil Genzlinger of the New York Times emphasized the larger-than-life nature of the film, remarking that, "It is full of big Bollywood stars and out-sized everything: the rainstorms are a little rainier than real life; the wind machines are cranked up an extra notch; the close-ups get closer and linger longer than usual; the coincidences that drive the plot are a little more numerous and unlikely than normal screenwriting allows". He praised the humor in the script and the director's comic timing in certain scenes such as the children's soccer match, the bed store, and at the ballet show. Box office Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna saw a record opening at many cities in India and generated in the first week itself, although it is currently Johar's lowest-grossing film according to net collections, even if unadjusted for inflation. It emerged the highest grosser worldwide for an Indian film, surpassing Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham...'s five-year-old record. With a total overseas gross of , the film was the third highest overseas grosser as of 2013. It opened strongly in the United States and the United Kingdom with first weekend grosses of $1.3 million in the U.S and $1.4 million (£750,000) in the UK. In total, Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna collected US$3,275,444 in the United States while in UK it netted over £5,079,688.00. In the US, one factor contributing to its success was the fact it debuted in 64 theatres, unusually high for a Bollywood film in cities with lower Indian populations such as Miami, Tampa, and Raleigh as well. Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna's total