• The Valentine’s Day movie of LizQuen changed the dismal atmosphere with their movie ‘Alone Together’
• A sad truth about other movies is their lackluster quality and some of them even spent so much for the production of these movies but earned much less
• ‘Alone/Together’ is now on its second week and accordingly had reached more than Php 200 million gross

The local entertainment industry is still struggling due to a string continuous flop of movies in cinemas, but the Valentine’s Day movie of LizQuen changed the dismal atmosphere with their movie ‘Alone/Together.’

READ: Mikhail Red on non-formula films suggested by netizens said they still flopped

Let us first take a review of some movies who were out in cinemas from January to February 2019.

BOY TOKWA: LODI NG GAPO – directed by Tony Reyes, it stars Jose Manalo, with Joey Marquez, Buboy Villar, and Karel Marquez, among others. From VST Production Specialists, Inc. (with senate president Tito Sotto or Vicente Sotto III as executive producer).

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Comedian and #EatBulaga dabarkads #JoseManalo stars in #VSTProductions first feature film presentation “#BoyTokwa: Lodi ng Gapo” directed by #TonyReyes. “Boy Tokwa” will open on January 8 in cinemas to be distributed by #AxiniteDigicinema

A post shared by LionhearTV (@lionheartvnet) on Jan 3, 2019 at 1:56am PST

It is based on a true story of Rodrigo Morelos’ (aka Boy Tokwa). It is also the story of his grandson who heads back to the Philippines in search of the truth about his grandfather.

SAKALING MAGING TAYO – directed by JP Habac, it stars Elisse Joson and McCoy De Leon, with Chai Fonacier, Paulo Angeles, and Milo Elmido Jr. The movie is a collaboration from Quantum Films and ABS-CBN Films’ Black Sheep outfit.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bsry9SVlsj-/

A story of two college freshmen, Pol (McCoy de Leon) and Laya (Elisse Joson). Pol is about to spend a care-free night in a music festival and accidentally meet Laya who is about to move back to Manila to escape from being brokenhearted, during their last day of school in Baguio City.

ELISE – directed by Joel Ferrer, it stars Janine Gutierrez and Enchong Dee, with Victor Anastacio, Laura Lehmann, and Miel Espinoza, from Regal Entertainment.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BuK30KeHHEf/

Another one inspired by a true story, this romantic film is about ex-lovers who meet again.

A sad truth about these movies is their lackluster quality that some of them spent so much for the production but the movies earned less. Even ‘Time & Again’ pulled-out from the cinemas.

But for LizQuen movie ‘Alone/Together’ was a hit. The only sold-out movie among all the other movies the has been screened. They are now on their second week and accordingly they already earned a 7-million gross income as of February 20.

On Tuesday, Liza Soberano and Enrique Gil went to Dubai to attend a sold-out screening of ‘Alone/Together’ at the Reel Cinema in The Dubai Mall.

Despite the continued flop of movies, except for ‘Alone Together,’ producers still have their hopes and continue to produce quality and inspiring movies.

• Some movies have been using “boycott” as a reason for not earning in theaters this week
• Promotion of bloggers and free advertisement on Facebook was enough to promote their movies
• People would really love to support their favorite actors/actresses even if somebody would call for a “boycott”

It’s “boycott for Filipino movies in cinemas” – Movie outfits have been using this as a reason for not earning in theaters this week.

We are aware that there were some speculations on directors who were calling for a boycott, on social media, for Robin Padilla’s’ movie ‘Bato: The General Ronald Dela Rosa Story.’

But for Arjo Atayde’s movie and that of Gelli de Bellen with Ariel Rivera, are their movies been boycotted too?

It’s really hard to believe the fact that film outfits report that their movies have been boycotted as a reason for not gaining that much in the box-office. There were also rumors that Vice Ganda’s movie “Fantastica” was planned to be boycotted but still the movie earned more than 500 million pesos, and was viewed not only in the Philippines but also in other countries.

Shall we claim then that movies like “Sakaling Maging Tayo” of Elisse Joson and McCoy de Leon and “Boy Tokwa: Lodi ng Gapo” of Jose Manalo which flopped in cinemas have also been boycotted?

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Comedian and #EatBulaga dabarkads #JoseManalo stars in #VSTProductions first feature film presentation “#BoyTokwa: Lodi ng Gapo” directed by #TonyReyes. “Boy Tokwa” will open on January 8 in cinemas to be distributed by #AxiniteDigicinema

A post shared by LionhearTV (@lionheartvnet) on Jan 3, 2019 at 1:56am PST

The truth behind this seems to be the lack of promotion for the said Filipino movies. Perhaps, the producers believed that the promotion given bloggers and the free advertisement on Facebook were enough to promote their movies while minimizing their promotional expenses.

This can be a much more acceptable reason to explain why there were lots of Filipino movies that flopped this past week.

During the Metro Manila Film Festival of 2018 (MMFF), netizens already knew what movies they wanted to watch. There were series of interviews and promotions for the cast members of the entry movies.

Unlike those movies that recently flopped in cinemas, the filmfest entries were not announced early on and were kept it secret, while production were working on their respective projects, and only revealed the details of the movie entries when it was nearly showing in cinemas on Christmas Day.

Let’s us consider now which matters can have a bigger impact on why some movies are not viewed in cinemas, as well as the people who still love to support their favorite actors/actresses even if somebody would call for a “boycott” of their films.

• ‘BATO, The Movie,’ ”Tol,’ and ‘Ang Sikreto ng Piso’ bombed at the tills
• ‘Ang Sikreto ng Piso’ earned only a little more that Php 200,000
• Present state of indie films in the Philippines

We Filipinos are accustomed to western movies with million-dollar budgets. Flashy action scenes, top notch CGI, and savvy marketing campaigns across all social media platforms have molded our minds to associate Pinoy indie films as “cheaper” film works.

Perry Escaño, director of “Ang Sikreto ng Piso,” whose movie only earned a little more than Php 200,000, expressed his sadness in the state of independent films here in the Philippines.

“It is so depressing how badly independent film productions are treated in the Philippines. Even though we have audiences watching in the cinemas, our film “Ang Sikreto ng Piso,” was pulled out by some operators and was replaced with Hollywood films after the first day.

“This is not the way to encourage local directors to create more movies. This is also not the way to educate the local movie audience as they need variety in their choices.

“This is also not the way to help industry workers because they need work to be able to put food on their families’ tables.

“The all-business mindset of cinema operators is killing the industry. We appeal to them to bring back to the movie theaters the local films they have pulled out after the first day. More people will come especially during the weekends. We just know. Do you think Hollywood films will help you in our future? Support our own Filipino films instead.”

The movies redundancy of using storytelling that has been done before might have played a factor to its failure in the big screen, so it is not yet clear if our favor to western movies played a big factor to its flop.

Unlike piso, bato movie flopped for an entirely different reason. people can’t help themselves from squinting their eyes in suspicion that the film might be a strategy to lionize Bato for the upcoming election this year in May.

Boycotted for the actor robin known for being pro duterte its timing of the release. netizens made fun of the movie for its failure to bring the audience on its release by sharing photos of its number of bought seats.

Si Bato at misis nya yung dalawa sa gitna.
Pinsan yung magkaaway sa harap.
Tas kapitbahay dati yung magjowa sa kanan.

Nilibre nya lahat yan. https://t.co/NEcYinPpeP

— Ethel (@econcepcion) February 1, 2019

• ‘Fantastica’ becomes Vice Ganda’s highest-grossing movie
• ‘Fantastica’ is a certified box-office  success in the MMFF 2018 box office race
• ‘Fantastica’ has earned 596 million, to date
  

Vice Ganda fans, rejoice!

Fantastica is a certified box office hit!

From his first main role in Petrang Kabayo (which earned Php 115 million) to his previous Manila Film Festival entry, The Revenger Squad, Vice didn’t stop setting the bar higher for his career.

The movie’s success is due to the massive support not just from Filipinos here in the Philippines, but worldwide as well.

Even with negative criticism, Fantastica has earned Php 596 million; making it Vice Ganda’s highest-grossing movie to date, beating his previous record of Php 571 million for the film “Gandarrapiddo: The Revenger Squad” back in the 2017 Metro Manila Film Festival.

The good news was announced by Star Cinema during the film’s Thanksgiving party on Tuesday, January 29, 2018.

But not everyone is happy with Fantastica’s success.

Some dislike Vice Ganda’s continued reliance on ‘insult comedy’ and the innuendos that made some feel the movie is stale material; bringing nothing new to the table and with only the sheer star power of its lead guaranteeing its blockbuster status.

Since we are talking about box office earnings, who would forget the sensational Daniel Padilla and Kathryn Bernardo’s loveteam movie “The Hows of Us” way back in 2018? It broke the 800 million mark, making it the highest-grossing Filipino film of all time.

Fans can’t help comparing the films; even going as far as stating that the film is undeserving of its success for relying too much on its star power and references.

Now, what are your thoughts on Vice Ganda’s success?

Did you like the film or do you think its the same old formula with a different packaging? Leave a comment down below for your thoughts and please do like and share for more amazing content.

The phenomenal bestselling book by John Green, “The Fault In Our Stars,” adapted to film starring today’s most talented young actors Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort is now a certified blockbuster film on its opening weekend across the globe.

Like fate, the movie’s success has already been written in the stars when it opened to a lustrous P52 million in just four (4) days after it opened (June 5) in the Phils., likewise, it also earned a brilliant $48 million in the U.S. on its opening weekend.

Benefitting from its massive fan base and impressive word-of-mouth, cinemas have noted a repeat in the views, not just twice but as much as reaching a fourth recurrence. This phenomenal draw in the Philippines had Google’s analytics gone bonkers as reported in Time Magazine when it found out that not India, not Spain and not even the United States where John Green is based had the most voracious of readers but is actually the Philippines that grabbed the seat. As stated in Time Magazine, “According to Google data, it’s actually the Philippines, whose search volume index (normalized as a score of 100, the highest) for the term “The Fault In Our Stars” is more than double that of the U.S. (44, the second highest). The three next most starry-eyed countries are Singapore (38), Australia (37) and New Zealand (36).”

Like all great love stories that have come before, “The Fault In Our Stars,” both book and movie is the current one to beat in terms of endearment to the young adult demographics the world over who cried, fell in love and journeyed with Hazel and Gus’ little infinities. Considering the popular young adult blockbuster movies that have been released such as Woodley’s and Elgort’s “Divergent,” “Twilight” films and “The Hunger Games,” “The Fault In Our Stars’” opening weekend gross had already closed in to the lifetime estimates of the previously mentioned comparative titles.

From its modest 137 screens, “The Fault In Our Stars’” admissions have managed to reach 283, 680 over its opening weekend. With sold out tickets on its first day in the Philippines, it was Ayala Malls Cinemas’ Trinoma that landed the top spot amongst theaters with P2.3million in receipts. Second best recorded box-office comes from SM North Edsa/The Block at 2.13 million followed by Glorietta4 (P1.9M); SM Mall of Asia (P1.8M) and SM Megamall (P1.6M).

Indicating a nationwide and wider market demographics appeal, “The Fault In Our Stars” have also recorded highs in the following cinemas that are within the film’s top 20 list – Ayala Cebu (P1.6M); Eastwood (P1.5M); Greenbelt (P 1.4M); Powerplant (P 1.35M); Shang Cineplex (P1.31M); SM Cebu (P1.29M); Greenhills TheatreMall (P1.28M); Gateway Cineplex/Ali Mall (P1.22M); Alabang Town Center (P1.1M); Robinson’s Magnolia (P.916M); Robinson’s Ermita (P.888M); SM Southmall (P.842M); Bonifacio High Street (P.788M); Newport (P.776M); Festival (P.726M) and Market!Market! (P.723M).

“The Fault In Our Stars” centers on two engaging teenagers, Hazel (Woodley) and Gus (Elgort) who meet at a cancer support group, immediately connect and form a powerful bond. We join the pair on an incredible quest, which takes them thousands of miles away from home, to Amsterdam as they take on the journey of a positive celebration of life.

Still showing in more than 100 screens nationwide, “The Fault In Our Stars” is from 20th Century Fox distributed by Warner Bros. Like 20thCentury Fox (Philippines) on Facebook, 20thcenturyfoxph/Youtube and 20centuryph/Twitter for more updates.

Burbank, CA, June 8, 2014 – Warner Bros. Pictures’ and Village Roadshow Pictures’ “Edge of Tomorrow” grossed $111.1 million, making it the weekend’s #1 film internationally and worldwide. The announcement was made today by Dan Fellman, President of Domestic Distribution, and Veronika Kwan Vandenberg, President of International Distribution, Warner Bros. Pictures.

Internationally, the film has been in limited release for 12 days, including Wednesday openings, and debuted in an additional 36 countries over the weekend, earning an impressive $82 million, including outstanding returns in with $8.6 million, China with $25 million, and Korea at $16.6 million. The international cumulative gross now stands at $111 million. On the domestic side, in its first three days of release, “Edge of Tomorrow” has grossed $29.1 million, bringing the worldwide total to $140.1 million and counting.

In the Philippines, the sci-fi adventure grossed a whopping P43.52M in four days and still rising.

In making the announcement, Fellman stated, “‘Edge of Tomorrow’ has received terrific critical acclaim, which has been echoed by audiences who have responded to the film and the fantastic performances of Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt. Word-of-mouth is extremely strong, which should continue to drive moviegoers to the theatre, either for the first time or to enjoy the film again.”

Kwan Vandenberg stated, “‘Edge of Tomorrow’ has risen above the crowded summer marketplace and continues to gain momentum, from our massive opening in Korea to the incredible results we’ve seen in Russia and China. We congratulate Doug Liman, Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt and the remarkable filmmakers, cast and crew on reaching this terrific benchmark.”

The epic action of “Edge of Tomorrow” unfolds in a near future in which an alien race has hit the Earth in an unrelenting assault, unbeatable by any military unit in the world.

Major William Cage (Cruise) is an officer who has never seen a day of combat when he is unceremoniously dropped into what amounts to a suicide mission. Killed within minutes, Cage now finds himself inexplicably thrown into a time loop—forcing him to live out the same brutal combat over and over, fighting and dying again…and again.

But with each battle, Cage becomes able to engage the adversaries with increasing skill, alongside Special Forces warrior Rita Vrataski (Blunt). And, as Cage and Rita take the fight to the aliens, each repeated encounter gets them one step closer to defeating the enemy.

Now playing across the Philippines in 2D, 3D, IMAX 3D and 4DX formats, “Edge of Tomorrow” is distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

MANILA, June 2, 2014 – Disney’s “Maleficent” bewitched the Philippine box office well beyond expectations for a No.1 finish, taking in an enchanted P179.9-million in five days nationwide for the May 28 to June 1 weekend. This according to the local office of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International, the film’s distributor.

That opening gross is the year’s second-biggest, bested only by last April’s “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” (P251-M) but higher than “X-Men: Days of Future Past” (P175-M) which bowed last week.

Powered by positive word-of-mouth from audiences, “Maleficent” opened tremendously huge that it already surpassed the lifetime revenues of Disney’s biggest non-Marvel titles, namely “Prince of Persia” (P156-M), “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” (P155-M) and “Alice in Wonderland” (P140-M).

The “Sleeping Beauty” companion film also shattered the record for Biggest Opening Weekend for an Angelina Jolie Live-Action Movie Ever, likewise smashing the lifetime grosses of “Salt” (P131-M), “Wanted” (P95-M) and “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” (P83-M).

Overseas, “Maleficent” also reigned over the weekend box office, debuting to a magical $70 million domestically (U.S.) and $100.6 million internationally.

The film’s stateside figure ranks as a record domestic debut for Jolie, edging out “Kung Fu Panda” ($60.2-M), “Wanted” ($50.9-M) and “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” ($50.3-M).
Back in the Philippines, the fairytale-based adventure reeled off in 264 screens (including 8 IMAX) in 122 locations. SM North EDSA garnered the largest share of box-office receipts with P8.41-M, followed closely by SM Mall of Asia (P8.29-M), SM Megamall (P8.06-M), SM Cebu (P7.09-M) and Trinoma (P6.19-M.)

Impressive grosses were also posted by Glorietta 4 (P4.74-M), Ayala Cebu (P4.07-M), Bonifacio High Street (P4.03-M), SM Aura (P3.47-M) and Alabang Town Center (P3.39-M).

Rounding up the Top 20 cinemas are Newport City (P3.33-M), Eastwood (P3.05-M), SM Southmall (P2.97-M), Power Plant (P2.96-M), Greenbelt 3 (P2.85-M), Greenhills Promenade (P2.82-M), SM Fairview (P2.57-M), Gateway (P2.56-M), SM Clark (P2.49-M) and Market! Market! (P2.48-M).

“Maleficent”explores the untold story of Disney’s most iconic villain from the classic “Sleeping Beauty” and the elements of her betrayal that ultimately turn her pure heart to stone. Driven by revenge and a fierce desire to protect the moors over which she presides, Maleficent cruelly places an irrevocable curse upon the human king’s newborn infant Aurora. As the child grows, Aurora is caught in the middle of the seething conflict between the forest kingdom she has grown to love and the human kingdom that holds her legacy. Maleficent realizes that Aurora may hold the key to peace in the land and is forced to take drastic actions that will change both worlds forever.

The film stars Angelina Jolie as Maleficent, Sharlto Copley, Elle Fanning, Sam Riley, Imelda Staunton, Juno Temple and Lesley Manville.

Now playing across the Philippines in 3D, 2D, MAX 3D and 4DX formats, “Maleficent” is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International through Columbia Pictures.

BURBANK, CA, May 25, 2014 – Riding on the tail of its enormous opening weekend, Warner Bros. Pictures’ and Legendary Pictures’ “Godzilla” will stomp across the $300 million mark at the worldwide box office today, Sunday, May 25th, only its tenth day in release. The announcement was made today by Warner Bros. Pictures President of Domestic Distribution, Dan Fellman, and President of International Distribution, Veronika Kwan Vandenberg.

Internationally, the film opened at number one in every major market in which it has has been released, including the Philippines (where total box office gross was P141.58-M as of today), UK, Australia, Russia, Mexico, Brazil, Korea, Germany, France and Italy, to name only a few. It also has much-anticipated openings in key markets, including China on June 13th.

“Legendary Pictures wishes to thank our filmmaking partners, our strategic partners worldwide and Warner Bros. for helping to bring this film to theaters around the globe,” said Jon Jashni, Legendary’s President and Chief Creative Officer. “It is very validating for Gareth, for us and for Toho to have been able to reach this early milestone in only a matter of days.”

Fellman stated, “There was tremendous anticipation for ‘Godzilla,’ and the film delivered in a huge way. We congratulate the cast, filmmakers and our partners at Legendary on reaching this benchmark, and, as word of mouth continues to build, we anticipate big returns to continue well into the summer.”

Kwan Vandenberg added, “Godzilla is a global icon and we couldn’t be more excited to work with Legendary, Gareth Edwards and his remarkable cast and crew in bringing a film worthy of that legacy to moviegoers the world over. With outstanding buzz, ‘Godzilla’ rose to the top of even the most crowded international markets, with numbers that have now pushed Warner Bros.’ international grosses past the $1 billion mark for the 14th year in a row.”

The film attracted a huge 3D viewership globally, accounting for more than half of 3D sales in both the U.S. and abroad.

Many moviegoers have opted to see the massive creature on the biggest screen possible, generating record numbers for IMAX®, which saw the highest-grossing opening weekend of the year, for “Godzilla.”

Still showing across the Philippines in 3D, 2D and IMAX 3D in select theatres, “Godzilla” is distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

It was an epic battle that waged epic receipts at the Phils.box-office as the biggest ensemble in the X-Men universe, “X-Men: Days of Future Past” bowed at number 1 in the Phils. Box-office on its opening weekend (May 21 – 25) with P175 million haul from almost 400 screens nationwide.

Helmed by Brian Singer, “X-Men: Days of Future Past” has dominated the local market with about 84% over-all market share and is now the Biggest Fox Film to open this year so far. Likewise, the movie is now the Biggest Opening Weekend for a Fox film all-time and the Biggest Opening Weekend for the franchise.

The outstanding box-office receipt is due to the rave reviews and repeat viewing eclipsing the entire lifetime gross of “The Wolverine” (P172M). The movie has also surpassed that of “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” (P155M) and is the 2nd Biggest Opening weekend industry-wide (international and local) for the year next to “The Amazing Spiderman 2” (P251M).

With almost 900,000 admissions nationwide, the top theatres who raked in hefty bulk of receipts in the box-office is led by SM Megamall at P8.2 million followed by SM Mall of Asia at P7.8M and Trinoma ranks third with P7.7M. Still within the top five theatres are SM North Edsa/The Block at P6.3M and Glorietta4 at P5.9M.

Completing the list of top 20 cinemas that contributed to “X-Men: Days of Future Past’s” outstanding opening weekend are SM Cebu (P4.16M); Greenbelt 3 (P4.11M); Alabang Town Center (P3.99M); Greenhills TheatreMall (P3.98M); Eastwood (P3.92M); SM Southmall (P3.8M); Bonifacio High Street (P3.69M); Ayala Cebu (P3.6M); Powerplant (P3.4M); Gateway Cineplex (P3.36M); Shang Cineplex (P3.31); Newport (P3.1M); Robinson’s Ermita (P2.8M); Market!Market! (P2.7M); Robinson’s Magnolia (P2.53M) and Robinson’s Galleria (P2.51M).

Playing alongside other movie titles on its opening week in the Phils., “X-Men: Days of Future Past” holds top spot at P175M followed by “Godzilla” (2nd week) at P29M, “The Amazing Spiderman (4th week) at P6.6M, “So It’s You (local film – 3rd week) at 1.6M and “Twin Sisters Ghost” (1st week) P.87M.

Featuring a stellar cast including Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Hugh Jackman, Jennifer Lawrence, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Halle Berry, Ellen Page, Peter Dinklage, Nicholas Hoult, Omar Sy, Shawn Ashmore, Evan Peters, Fan Bingbing and Lucas Till, “X-Men: Days of Future Past” fights a war for the survival of the species across two time periods. The beloved characters from the original “X-Men” film trilogy join forces with their younger selves from the past, in order to change a major historical event and fight an epic battle that could save the mutants and humankind’s future.

Available in 2D, 3D and 4DX format, “X-Men: Days of Future Past” is still showing in almost 400 screens nationwide from 20th Century Fox distributed by Warner Bros.