Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan and Aamir Khan
Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan and Aamir KhanCollage of photos taken from Facebook pages

It's a known fact that Shah Rukh Khan has a huge fan-following overseas compared to the other two Khans – Salman Khan and Aamir Khan.

In the top 10 highest grosser in the overseas market, Shah Rukh has the most movies including "My Name is Khan", "Chennai Express" and "Happy New Year".

But in the past two years, we have seen Aamir taking the claim. The top 10 list features only three Aamir movies, but all the films are in the first three slot. "Dhoom 3", "PK" and "3 Idiots" are in the top three positions.

The equation was not the same before the release of "Dhoom 3", as only one Aamir's movie ("3 Idiots") was there on the first spot, followed by four Shah Rukh's movies. However, Aamir's recent releases have changed the equation in the overseas market.

And it's the regular overseas market, but Aamir has taken the non-traditional markets also by storm. "3 Idiots" and "Dhoom 3", which were released in China, created records at the box offices. But Shah Rukh's "Happy New Year", which was released on 12 February, has got the same response as Aamir's films, according to trade experts.

"There's a tough fight between Shah Rukh and Aamir in the overseas territory. Besides star-power, it's also about the film and its content. Aamir's Dhoom 3 was already an established brand. PK had him coming back with Rajkumar Hirani after a massively successful 3 Idiots," trade analyst Taran Adarsh told DNA.

"Though Happy New Year did very well, it didn't match the kind of numbers one has of an SRK film," he added.

"I think like the audience in India, even the audience abroad has started looking at Aamir's movies to be like an ISI mark. They associate his movies with quality and novelty. They know that if it's an Aamir Khan movie it must be something good," trade expert Komal Nahta added.