It is that time of the year when Bollywood distributors and exhibitors eagerly await a box-office boom, collections are at their best and theatre attendance is at an all-time high.

For years, traders have counted on the Eid and Diwali week to usher in a ray of hope at the box-office. With the two coming together in one week, there is an even greater expectation about the business possibilities this year, reports Bollywood Trade magazine.

"We were all waiting for this period, since the past few weeks have been really bad for business," says Sanjay Dalia, general manager, programming, Cineline theatres.

"Even if there are a handful of releases during this period, one can be assured that none of them will go unnoticed. Everyone is busy making hay while the sun shines at the box-office," he says.

According to him, the period has come to acquire even more importance with more than 40 percent of the year proving to be a loss-making one for distributors and exhibitors.

"Ten years ago the trend was such that distributors and exhibitors would write off 10 weeks in a year as loss-making periods, particularly the period of Ganesha festival, Navratri, the March exams, the Ramadan season and others.

"But the scenario has changed today with the loss-making weeks now being extended to 20 weeks, with more opposition coming in the form of elections, political developments and cricket matches. That's why the Diwali and Eid periods have come to acquire even more significance," Dalia adds.

Mumbai distributor Rakesh Sippy feels that a Diwali release gives an added impetus to the film at the box-office.

"The timing definitely brightens a film's prospects if it is backed by a fair amount of content," he says.

Noted Mumbai distributor Shyam Shroff of Shringar feels Diwali is always a better period to release a film with the audiences being in a holiday mood and the spending power of people going up.

"It is the time when people go all out for entertainment. I remember we had released 'Mission Kashmir' a couple of years ago and the film did excellent business, one of the reasons being the timing of its release," he recalls.

However, Shroff has no regrets about the postponement of "Ab Tumhare Hawale Watan Sathiyon", which he was to release in the Mumbai circuit.

"I feel it was a wise decision since the film would have clashed with too many other films if it had released in Diwali," he says.

According to Nester D'souza, executive director of Metro who is releasing "Naach" at the theatre this Diwali, a film released during the festival definitely draws better crowds, with a marked increase in attendance of 20-25 percent.

"'Naach' may not have got a great advance booking but the period of release will definitely boost the film's prospects. Even if a film is not a great one to talk about, the crowds are in a holiday mood and the spill-over effect is always there," says D'souza.