What will make people go back to cinemas?

Charmie Joy Pagulong - The Philippine Star 

September 17, 2024 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine cinema industry has lost its audience, particularly those belonging to the D, E and some C socioeconomic classes, according to Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) chairman Jose “Joey” Javier Reyes.

During the presscon for Philippine Film Industry Month, which the country is celebrating this month, Reyes disclosed that based on the preliminary survey conducted with the Cinema Exhibitors Association of the Philippines (CEAP), the viewing habits of the Filipino cinemagoers have dramatically changed.

“No. 1 is wala na ang D and E audiences. The people who watched films in theaters before no longer watched in cinemas because they cannot afford it. Even the C market, ang nanonood lang B and C-1, not even C-2 and C-3. So, in other words, it is very limited, which explains why the biggest hits of Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) are those kinds of films,” Reyes pointed out.

“Remember the year that ‘Deleter’ was the biggest hit because we have a different audience who watch the film who can afford. So, that’s an alarming bell.”

“Deleter” was the MMFF Best Picture in 2022.

The viewers would just wait for the films to be streamed on streaming platforms, Reyes further said. “The streaming window sometimes, it’s as low as 45 days. So, instead of paying P500 (for movie tickets), you’ll just wait for it on streaming.”

“Another finding is that the people who can afford, nawala ng return of business. Some used to watch films a couple of times, but now they realize na papanoorin mo minsan then wait for it on streaming platforms. So, anlaking kabawasan.”

‘Moro’

However, Reyes noted that the movie of exes Julia Barretto and Joshua Garcia, “Un/Happy for You,” gives the Philippine cinema industry “hope” and cited the MMFF 2023 entry “Rewind,” which had a successful run.

The romantic drama flick “Un/Happy for You” registered P390 million in box-office earnings, as of Sept. 2, while Marian Rivera and Dingdong Dantes’ starrer “Rewind” was touted as the highest-grossing film in the Philippines after hitting P1 billion worldwide in box-office sales.

“It gives us hope because it’s outside the festival arena,” Reyes said of “Un/Happy for You.”

“The film of Joshua and Julia, they haven’t done a film together for a while. And we all know that Julia is with somebody else. But they’re sabik nga sila.”

“(Meanwhile), Dingdong and Marian have not done a movie for so long. It’s a family movie. It even has Jesus. And it’s Christmas, so it was really a perfect storm.”

Reyes stressed that the biggest promo is word-of-mouth, as the survey suggested. “When they say pitik-pitik lang ang box office mo, but when the word-of-mouth (comes into play), dudumugin ka. And there’s also this feeling OP (out of place) that you have to see the film. It’s just sad that the people who used to watch cinemas before were lost.”

The Filipino producers are also aware of this situation, continued Reyes. “If you have a low-budget film, the viewers would not watch it because the audience who could afford it already has high expectations. If you are going to stream on Netflix and watch these Korean movies with grand production value, they would not pay P300 to P400 (movie tickets) for a low-budget film which was shot in three to seven days.”

It’s like a “chicken-and-egg situation,” described Reyes. “If you’re a producer who spent like P25M, what are the chances that you will get it in return? That’s why it’s important that you think of a market much larger than the Philippines.”

‘Un/Happy for You’

“You had to think globally without sacrificing (to capture) the Filipino spirit (in movies),” urged Reyes.

He cited the highest-grossing Thai movie in 2024 “How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies,” which is now streaming on Netflix, as an example. “It has a universal theme. It never pretended to be anything else but a Thai film but the story is king, you should have emphasized that.”

“Another sad (truth) is the romcom (genre). It cannot just be the same kind of romcom you used to before. Those kinds of romcom, sa streaming na nila ilaban.”

Award-winning director Brillante Mendoza echoed the same sentiment, which is why he chose Netflix for his film “Moro” to be streamed rather than screened it in cinemas.

“Moro” had participated at the 28th Busan International Film Festival held last year. It stars Laurice Guillen, Baron Geisler, Piolo Pascual, among others.

“The situation of our cinema and the reality now is really sad… As much as I want it to be screened in cinemas, as a producer, you have to consider the huge amount that you will spend. You have to consider the distribution and promotional process and it involves big amount of money. And usually, halos yung ginastos mong yun, hindi mo pa makukuha sa kikitain ng film, especially kung one week lang siya,” he said in a separate interview for his film “Moro.”

“Regardless whether it’s mainstream or indie, that’s a sad reality,” he lamented and hoped that the situation would change. The cinema experience is different, he noted. But the advantage of releasing the films on Netflix is it will reach a broader audience, he further stated.

Adding to the issue is the lack of government support. “First of all, our government doesn’t see the showbiz as an industry,” the Cannes-winning filmmaker said. “They don’t invest. They don’t care. Mga showbiz naman kayo, mayayaman kayo diyan. Mga artista, mayayaman naman. That’s how the government sees us. They never take us seriously.”

Meanwhile, speaking from a producer’s perspective, Piolo remarked that he is all for streaming “because you get to at least recoup your money.”

“Because if you do theatrical release, chances are you are unsure if your investment will return, if you have an ROI (return on investment) or none,” he went on to explain.

“So, the easiest way out is go streaming. It’s the norm right now. So, for me (as a producer), I will make a movie but I will not risk na ipalabas if it’s not tent pole.”

So, what will make the people go back to the cinemas?

“That question is complicated,” reacted Mendoza. “First of all, (from) my point of view, hindi pa naman siya dumaan sa pag-aaral. So, before you say anything or suggest, you should know and somehow dapat dumaan sa pag-aaral. So that when you say it and do it, you have proof.”

“It’s easy to say to reduce the movie ticket prices. Do you really think that that will solve the problem?” he asked.

“Second, kahit ano pang idikdik to the new generation, the generation now is different from 10 years ago. There was no streaming, social media (then) kumbaga kahit papano limited pa rin ang entertainment ng mga tao. Now, you have free (content) on YouTube, there’s piracy and you have streaming as a competitor where you pay less… So, it’s really difficult to say,” he told The STAR.

“At the same time, the range of entertainment on social media is broader. You want to watch comedy, horror, genre films (and you find them on social media). So, it’s really hard to say na, ‘Bumalik kayo sa sinehan. Panoorin niyo.’”

He was also queried about his thoughts on the future of cinemas and he said, “The movie theaters will not disappear. But I feel that (the capacity) will shrink, like from 400-seater, it will be like this, 50 to 100-seater,” referring to the micro-cinema at Victoria Sports Tower.

“And as much as ako as a filmmaker, I want my films to be on the big screen and all. But the reality is, ‘Wake up. ‘Yanang gusto ng realidad.’”