It's enlightening to ponder on the following thoughts of progressive, well-meaning, and no-nonsense filmmaker Joel Lamangan on the sorry state of the Philippine movie industry immediately after the celebration and showing of the ten (10) official entries to the 49th Metro Manila Film Festival which started on Christmas Day, December 25, 2023, to its original culmination on January 7 but was officially extended on January 14, 2024:
"Natapos na ang MMFF, unti-unting nawala na din ang manonood ng pelikula (MMFF has ended and so with the interest of the moviegoers).
"Maraming dahilan ang sinasabi--1) katatapos lang daw ng gastusan 2) pagod pa ang mga tao dahil sa nakaraang Pasko at Bagong Taon 3) wala nang selebrasyong idinaraos kaya walang tao sa sinehan 4) nagsawa na ang tao sa panonood ng sine pagkatapos ng Pasko at Bagong taon 5) hindi exciting ang mga ipinalabas na sine nitong nakaraang Pasko (There are many attributions to this--1) Christmastime spending 2) holiday fatigue 3) no more celebration so cinemas are empty 4) people had enough movie watching after the holidays 4) films shown during the holidays were not exciting).
"Ano ba talaga ang dahilan? Gayong noong mga nakaraang taon at panahon ay pinag-aagawan ang playdate na pagkatapos ng MMFF. Kumita ang banyaga at Pilipinong sine na ipinalabas (What really is the cause? Before, playdates after the holidays were highly contested. Foreign and local movies made money).
Painful sight is back!
"Pumunta ako at tiningnan ang kalalagayan ng Sineng Pinoy na ipinalabas pagkatapos ng MMFF. Nanlumo ako dahil bumalik sa dating kalagayang kalunus-lunos ang mga sinehan. WALANG NANUNUOD!!!! (I went out and looked at the situation of Filipino movies shown after the MMFF. I was shocked and exasperated because the painful sight is back. NO ONE WATCHES in cinemas).
"Tiningnan ko ang presyo ng tiket! Mataas pa rin, hindi abot ng karaniwang Pilipino na manonood (I looked at the prices of tickets. They're still high which the ordinary Filipinos can't afford).
"Walang ginagawang hakbang ang pamahalaan upang mapababa ang halaga ng panonood ng mga obra ng mga manlilikhang Pinoy (The government doesn't do anything to lower the ticket prices to watch the film works of Filipino creative artists).
"Sinigaw ko na dito sa Facebook ang suliraning ito. Maraming sumang-ayon (I already shouted this problem on Facebook and many agreed).
"Kinakailangan ang sama-samang pagkilos upang gulantangin ang kinauukulan para maibalik ang pinakamurang uri ng entetainment sa tao. (A collective action is needed to wake up the people concerned to bring back the cheapest form of entertainment).
Ticket prices are unaffordable
"Hindi kaya ng ordinaryong manggagawa, mangingisda, tindera, empleyado, estudyante, atbp. (The ordinary workers, fisherfolk, vendors, employees, students etc.)
"Mahina ang kita sa halaga ng tiket (They cannot afford the ticket prices).
"Kaawa-awa ang Industriya ng Pelikulang Pilipino, kailangang tulungan ng pamahalaan sa pamagitan ng Konggreso na gumawa ng batas na magre-regulate ng presyo ng tiket (The Philippine Movie Industry is pitiful, the government should help it through Congress to enact laws that would regulate ticket prices).
"Kung nagagawa ito sa ibang produkto kagaya ng asukal, bigas, bawang, sibuyas atbp., ang sine ay importanteng pagkain ng isip at puso ng manonood na Pinoy (If the prices of other commodities are stabilized like sugar, rice, garlic, onions etc., movies are also an important food for the brains and hearts of the Filipino moviegoer!).
"Sa ibang bansa ay nagagawa ito. Sana ay magawa din dito sa atin (This is done in other countries why can't we do it here as well!).
Appeal to the President
"Sama-sama tayong manawagan sa mga kinauukulan, lalung-lalo na doon sa mga nanggaling sa Industriya ng sineng Pilipino (Let us get united to appeal to the people involved especially those who are from the industry of Philippine movies!).
"Kundi man ay manawagan sa Pangulo upang matulungan ang ating mahal na industriya. Sana ay maibalik sa 150 o 200 pesos ang halaga ng tiket (If not, make an appeal to the President for support to our beloved industry. I hope tickets are priced back to P150 or P200!).
"Ibalik natin ang mga panahon na dinudumog ng tao ang sinehan para sa kanilang 'entertainment' KAILANGAN ANG SAMA-SAMANG PAGKILOS (Let's bring back the days when cinemas were patronized by people for their 'entertainment' WE NEED A COLLECTIVE ACTION!!!!!!!!)."
While at it, did the 49th MMFF make money as the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA), the overseer and organizer of the festival claimed?
According to MMDA Acting Chief Don Artes, the 2023 MMFF grossed a whooping P1.069B which he said was higher than the 2018 fest which garnered P1.061B.
Artes added that the 49th festival had only 800 cinemas assigned while the 44th event had 1,200 theaters.
Still, there are talks that in its entirety, last year's gig didn't exactly make money from its entries.
Marian-Dingdong film, top grosser
It could be true that Star Cinema's "Rewind" which starred Dingdong Dantes and Marian Rivera earned a total gross of P845M in its local and international screenings, while the other films earned a pittance.
Consider these: The others in the Top 5 box-office revenues were Mentorque Productions' "Mallari" which headlined Piolo Pascual earning P70M while Jesuit Communications' "GomBurZa" took home P63M. Meanwhile, GMA Films' "Firefly" and Cineko Productions' "Family of Two" have no gross receipts reported yet.
These figures are officially only as far as press releases are concerned.
Even MMFF only issues overall income and individual ranking.
In the Philippines, official data on box-office records aren't provided by film outfits except Star Cinema because it is sanctioned by stockholders.
There is no government agency, not even the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP), that releases film earnings unlike abroad as such Korea, Japan, etc. with facts and figures open to the public.
If we go by the math, anyway, the five last entries, namely, JG Productions' "When I Met You in Tokyo," Quantum Films' "(K)Ampon," BMC Films' "Broken Hearts Trip," The IdeaFirst Company's "Becky and Badette" and Viva Films' "Penduko" could only pocket, roughly, from the remaining small fraction of the total gross.
Is it true that even a Piolo film didn't make as much?
There is the Manila International Film Festival (MIFF) where the ten films will be shown in L.A. in California, USA, from January 29 to February 2, 2024.
This is also hounded by controversies i.e., allegedly, the producer of "Broken Hearts Trip" is its organizer.
There will be another awards night and other events such as a symposium, meet and greet of stars, etc.
Will MIFF make money?
Shorts: Award-winning cinematographer Romy Vitug kicked the bucket due to leukemia he had been suffering for years. Nice of Richard Gomez to pay his last respects to Romy who did the cinematography of "Hihintayin Kita sa Langit" where he won the Urian Best Actor award...Fil-Aussie singer Seann Miley Moore will reprise his The Engineer role in Claude-Michel Schonberg and Alain Boublil's "Miss Saigon" at the Theater at Solaire in March with Filipina singer Abigail Adriano as Kim. Seann Miley is an internationally acclaimed singer who shouts to the world he's gay and happy. Moore was born in Indonesia but grew up in Australia.
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