MANILA, January 4 ------ With still four more screening days before the festival concludes, the combined gross ticket sales of all ten participating movies in the 2023 Metro Manila Film Festival has already breached P700-million.
According to MMFF Chairman Atty. Don Artes, they have already reached the target for this year and expect to exceed it in the coming days. "As of yesterday, na-reach na po namin yung target na gross receipts, naka-700 million na as of yesterday," said Artes, who gave credit to the production companies. "Kasi sila yung nag-produce, kami po ay namili lamang. I can say na great majority (of the ten films) ay kumita na," Artes explained.
In 2018, the MMFF hit a record box office gross of P1.061 billion. Artes says they remain hopeful that with moviegoers going back to the movies, they will be able to beat this record. But amid the massive public support for the MMFF, moviegoers have also raised concerns regarding high ticket prices. Alessandra de Rossi, the lead actress of "Firefly," noticed that their movie was being shown in cinemas with ticket prices ranging from P520 to P800 -- much higher than regular ticket prices of P300 to P400. Pepe Diokno, who earned Best Director honors for "Gomburza," said: "Noong nag-simula ang sine, it was affordable entertainment for Juan dela Cruz. I think hindi natin masasabi yan ngayon. But I’m not sure if I can still say it now." "I can understand kung Hollywood films mataas ang presyo, pero for Filipino films sana para mas maraming Pilipino ang manood, sana ibaba ang presyo ng ticket," he added.
According to Artes, ticket prices are relative, especially when it comes to location. He explains that provincial cinemas are less expensive compared to moviehouses in prime locations like Makati, not to mention the cost that go with cinema operations. "Yung aircon, yung lease ng lugar kasi mga commercial spaces yan, may lease yan pero square meter basis, siyempre yung mga nasa probinsya, mas mura ang lease niyan as compared to kung nasa Makati ka," he said. "[May] kuryente, mga staff, yung mga naglilinis and yung recovery ng investment nila, yung mga projectors, yung screens, yung upuan, may gastos po yan," he added. Nonetheless, Artes believes that it is possible to bring down ticket prices. He reveals that some members of the MMFF Executive Committee are also members of the Cinema Exhibitors Association of the Philippines (CEAP), and there is continuous dialogue about ticket prices. Artes also expressed support for Senator Jinggoy Estrada and Quezon City 1st District Representative Arjo Atayde's calls for lower ticket prices as well as their proposals to lift amusement taxes, value-added taxes and distribution fees in favor of the movie producers.
In a statement to ABS-CBN News, Atayde said that part of their agenda for this year is "how to find ways to lower down cinema ticket prices." "First things first is, we will be talking to stakeholders involved within this first quarter to seal an urgent and efficient way of pulling down prices without hitting on any stakeholder involved," said Atayde. "Minor adjustments [and] amendments could go a long way for Philippine cinema." After the festival, all ten MMFF movies will be brought to Los Angeles, California for the Manila International Film Festival set for January 29 to February 2.
Source: news.abs-cbn.com
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