Moviegoers will flock to the cinemas if movie tickets are more reasonably priced.
This was what Crisanto Aquino — director of the Filipino film “Instant Daddy” currently showing in local cinemas — said after the success of SM Cinema’s discounted movie ticket promo over the weekend.
In a Facebook post on Monday, October 16, Aquino thanked Filipinos who watched his movie “Instant Daddy” as part of SM Cinema’s P65-movies promo on Sunday, October 15.
For the one-day-only promo, movies showing at all SM Cinema branches nationwide on October 15 were priced at only P65. Currently, movie ticket prices go to an upward of P300, depending on the theater.
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The promo included recent titles, including the award-winning “Monster” by Hirokazu Kore-eda, the action-adventure film “The Creator” and Aquino’s “Instant Daddy.”
“Instant Daddy” is a Philippine remake of the 2013 Mexican comedy-drama “Instructions Not Included.” Produced by Viva Films, the movie stars Jerald Napoles and Ryza Cenon.
Many Filipino moviegoers and cineastes lauded SM Cinema — the latest movie theater operator in the Philippines — for the promo, saying it makes the moviegoing experience more accessible to the mass audience.
Aquino, in his Facebook post, thanked those who watched “Instant Daddy” during SM Cinema’s P65 movie promo, noting that the screenings of his film were sold out.
“Pero simula sa araw na ito, balik na sa katotohanan uli, 300+ na uli ang ticket. Pero maraming salamat at naibalik nyo, natin… sa sinehan ang pamilyang Filipino,: he said.
The film director — who has previously helmed the 2019 Metro Manila Film Festival entry “Write About Love — added that the success of the discounted movie ticket promo proves that local moviegoers are still interested in watching films in the cinema. That is, if ticket prices are more affordable.
Aquno said: Di totoong patay na ang Philippine Cinema, buhay sya.”
“Mapili lang ang audience sa paglalaanan ng 300+ dahil malaki ito. Kailangan lang nila malaman ano ba ang dapat talagang panoorin at papanoorin nila ito,” he added.
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“Patunay din ito na kapag afordable ang ticket, mas manonood ang masang Filipino. Someday… sana…”
The performance of local movies in Philippine theaters has been on the radar of moviegoers and industry pundits lately after the success of the Kathryn Bernardo and Dolly de Leon-starrer “A Very Good Girl.” The film’s producer, Star Cinema, claims it has earned over P100 million at the box office as of last week.
Film companies have started releasing their movies in theaters again after it opened in 2021 following an 18-month closure due to COVID-19 restrictions. But the number of local releases and their box office gross, have yet to reach pre-pandemic levels. —Chuck Smith