Joginder Tuteja, Bollywood Trade News Network

Success of BLUE and ALL THE BEST have done the trick. Their combined collections are now the best ever in the history of Bollywood. While BLUE has netted around 33 crores in the first week, ALL THE BEST too has gained speed with around 25 crores coming in. With a combined total of 58 crores, this is clearly the best that Bollywood has ever seen. Add to this a paltry 8 crores earned by MAIN AURR MRS. KHANNA and at least in absolute terms, Diwali has brought more than 65 crores back into the industry.

Now compare it with this Diwali which held the record for the highest total ever for the festive season. The sum total of GOLMAAL RETURNS and FASHION was 60 crores with the Rohit Shetty film bringing in around 41 crores and Madhur Bhandarkar getting his career high opening of 19 crores. However, the fact remains that this sum was achieved on a 9 days extended run (both the films had released on Wednesday). This clearly makes 2009 as the best ever when it comes to huge revenue being generated.

Coming back to BLUE and ALL THE BEST, one cannot deny that the two films did eat into each other's business. Had they arrived separately, the collections would have been much-much better. In the process of Diwali clash, both films did suffer to an extent. When BLUE was taking the opening weekend lead, ALL THE BEST had to suffer an almost disastrous state. On the other hand when ALL THE BEST started catching late over the weekend, BLUE had to be content with decent collections rather than 'very good' as it would have enjoyed had it been the sole horse in the race.

As things stand today, both the films are safe at the box office but still have some distance to go before they can be termed as bona fide hits. With MAIN AURR MRS. KHANNA making a silent exit, the current week would decide if there would be a sense of competition between the two films or they would be able to good business with their own set of target audiences. With both FRUIT AND NUT as well as BAL GANESHA 2 turning out to be zero competition (expectedly), both BLUE and ALL THE BEST have 7 more days to gain good moolah before ALADIN arrives with LONDON DREAMS.