WHAT'S NEW WITH MMFF?

The 10 day Metro Manila Film Festival has just been concluded and again Vice Ganda is lording it over at the box-office supremacy for the past 6 or 7 consecutive years.  Just like in previous years, there were reports that some entries were pulled out from theaters due to poor showing at the box-office.  There's nothing new about this as this happens every year but the good thing is that after the awards night  (held just a few days after the festival kicked off), the runaway winner "Rainbow's Sunset" boosted its ticket sales after it won major awards including best picture.

It's holiday season and obviously moviegoers would go for comedy and family oriented films. Millennials prefers the so called "hugot" genre and horror films, however only "Aurora" succeeded this year. "One Great Love" and "Otlum" are in the bottom 3 and are struggling to catch up.  The gay themed "Rainbow's Sunset" top-billed by octogenarians Eddie Garcia, Tony Mabesa and Gloria Romero started at the bottom but managed to pull up after it won the best picture award.  Some says Vice Ganda's entry this year "Fantastica" is probably his worst MMFF movie but nonetheless it still the second most watched movie of 2018  with a whopping 10 day gross of P480M,  next to the monster hit "The Hows of Us."  Trailing behind Fantasica is the Coco Martin-Vic Sotto tandem with P340M, followed by "Aurora" with P95M. 

Here's the unofficial 10 day box-office ranking of MMFF entries according to our source.

Based on the box-office results and ranking above, approximately 70% of the total sales gross went to  "Fantastica" and "Jack Em Poy."  As reported some entries were pulled out from theaters in favor of the two blockbuster films but we can't blame theater owners, this is business after all.  Except perhaps "Aurora" and "Mary, Marry Me," all the other four entries  are struggling to reach their break-even point and return of investment but on a positive note, the total festival gross this year has exceeded 1 Billion Peso mark albeit only 4 films are performing well at the box-office. 

Here's the full list of winners of MMFF 2018 Awards;

Best Picture: "Rainbow's Sunset"
Second Best Picture: "Aurora"
Third Best Picture: "One Great Love"

Special Jury Prize: Max Collins, "Rainbow's Sunset"
Special Jury Prize: Eddie Garcia, "Rainbow's Sunset"

Best Actor: Dennis Trillo, "One Great Love"
Best Supporting Actor: Tony Mabesa, "Rainbow's Sunset"
Best Actress: Gloria Romero, "Rainbow's Sunset"
Best Supporting Actress: Aiko Melendez," Rainbow's Sunset"
Best Child Performer: Phoebe Villamor, "Aurora"

Best Director: Joel Lamangan, "Rainbow's Sunset"
Best Float: "Jack Em Popoy: The Puliscredibles"
Best Short Student Film: Bulacan State University, "Kasilyas"
Best Production Design: "Rainbow's Sunset"
Best Visual Effects: "Aurora"
Best Sound Design: "Aurora"
Best Musical Score: "One Great Love"
Best Original Theme Song: "Sa'yo Na" from "Rainbow's Sunset"
Best Editing: "Jack Em Popoy: The Puliscredibles"
Best Cinematography: "Aurora"
Best Screenplay: "Rainbow's Sunset"
FPJ Memorial Award: "Jack Em Popoy: The Puliscredibles"
Stars of the Night: Jericho Rosales, "The Girl in the Orange Dress"; Anne Curtis "Aurora"
Gatpuno Antonio J. Villegas Cultural Award: "Rainbow's Sunset"