All eyes are on Alden Richards and Julia Montes as their romance film “Five Breakups and a Romance” will soon open in theaters.
The question on the minds of movie fans and showbiz pundits: will it do well at the box office?
READ: What to expect from Alden and Julia’s ‘unexpected’ movie teamup | Philstar.com
Many are hoping that it would. The box office success of “Five Breakups and a Romance” would be a win not just for Alden and Julia, but for the local movie industry in general.
“Five Breakups and a Romance” is billed as a “modern love story” between carefree Lance (played by Alden) and career-centric Justine (Julia) as “they navigate to find the ideal midpoint between love and career.”
Part of the film’s press release: “The film treads on the complexities of relationships in today’s fast-changing landscape, but when the unexpected comes, will Lance and Justine choose love over career?”
Based on the release, the film’s distributor Axinite Digicinema and its producers GMA Pictures, Cornerstone Studios and Alden’s own multimedia company MYRIAD Corporation are confident of “Five Breakups and a Romance’s” box office chances.
Its film press release declares that “Five Breakups and a Romance” is “poised to smash box office” records.
It added that the film is “set to exceed estimates and continue to break the local movie industry’s slump.”
These are confident claims that can encourage viewers to go to the cinemas on October 18. But, as with any grandiose marketing positioning, it can also be a setup for failure.
“Five Breakups and a Romance” comes on the heels of the box office success of “A Very Good Girl,” a film starring Kathryn Bernardo and Dolly de Leon. Earlier this week, its producer Star Cinema said the film had already earned P100 million in ticket sales.
READ: Medyo insane’: 30 films vying for four remaining slots of 2023 MMFF
Hence, the bold statement that “Five Breakups and a Romance” is set to “continue to break” the local movie industry’s slump.
“A Very Good Girl’s” connection with “Five Breakups and a Romance” has also been noted by its stars’ fans.
Alden and Kathryn starred in the 2019 romance “Hello, Love, Goodbye,” currently the highest-grossing Filipino movie.
Meanwhile, Julia’s showbiz breakthrough was in 2010 when she starred in the television remake of soap opera “Mara Clara” with Kathryn.
According to a movie industry insider, who requested anonymity, theaters expect “Five Breakups and a Romance” to do well and drive people back into the cinema.
The industry insider commented that the box office declaration of the team behind the film’s marketing is “confident,” but it’s not without basis.
Not including the success of “A Very Good Girl,” it’s been a slow two weeks for local cinemas, the industry insider noted.
Cinema operators thought they could maintain good ticket sales following the streak of successes in local theaters the past few months — including the megahits “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer,” horror movies “Insidious: The Red Door” and “The Nun II” and romantic drama film Past Lives.
But films released here in the past few weeks — except “A Very Good Girl” — underperformed at the box office.
“The Exorcist: Believer” is still in over 200 cinemas nationwide. But it did not meet box office expectations internationally.
This slump makes it more likely for “Five Breakups and a Romance” to attract viewers; moviegoers are primed to spend for film tickets if they have not been to the movie theater in a while.
Another insider involved in film production and film marketing, who also chose to remain anonymous, said it is important for “Five Breakups and a Romance” to do well for the sake of the local film industry.
Very few local films have had successful theatrical since theaters reopened in 2021 following closures due to pandemic-related restrictions enforced by the government — among them Nadine Lustre’s “Deleter” and Vice Ganda’s “Partners in Crime,” both released in 2022.
“It sets the tone sa moviegoing behavior ng mga Pinoy. Para siyang domino effect in slow motion — the more people hear about films hitting jackpot sa box office, the more people get curious. May behavior na nana-nudge knowing that more people are going back to the cinemas,” the insider explained.
They added: “But it is in slow motion kasi sa space na ginagalawan natin ngayon, mahirap magcompete sa video on demand. Hindi issue ang ticket price kasi every month nagsu-subscribe ang mga tao sa online monthly sales.”
“It just really takes a lot of effort to make them go. At sobrang subjective ng factor na ito para mapapunta mo sila sa sinehan.”
It’s also interesting to note that GMA Pictures, with its co-producers for the film, is taking a different route from Star Cinema.
READ: Alden, binuhay ang nakaraan nila ni Maine | Pilipino Star Ngayon
“Five Breakups and a Romance” is a film that taps directly into the Filipino audience’s preference for the romance genre and love teams (Alden and Julia are being marketed as an “unconventional pairing” and the “latest big-screen phenomenal tandem”).
Star Cinema’s “A Very Good Girl” also taps into its star’s love team connection; Kathryn is one-half of the popular KathNiel tandem with real-life partner Daniel Padilla (their 2018 film “The Hows of Us” was the country’s highest-grossing Filipino film before “Hello, Love, Goodbye” usurped it a year later).
But “A Very Good Girl,” a reliable source tells Interkasyon, is deliberately not a love team film or a romance movie. It’s part of the company’s new directive as it enters its self-proclaimed “new era” — to make films that tap stars from its established and popular love teams but are not romance movies — in an attempt to capture a new audience amid the shrinking pool of local moviegoers following the pandemic.
See its previously announced slate of upcoming films as proof, the historical film “Elena 1944” starring Kathryn and the comedy-adventure film “I Am Not Big Bird” starring Enrique Gil among them.
This isn’t to say Star Cinema won’t be making romance films anymore, as it also announced that a new Kathryn-Daniel movie is in the works. But in an interview, Daniel is careful to say that his next film with Kathryn will be “different.” “Alam ko na ‘yung storyline. Ito literal na bago talaga ‘yung gagawin namin. Medyo matrabaho pero very exciting,” he said.
In any case, Alden and Julia are working to ensure success for “Five Breakups and a Romance.” In a TV interview to promote the film, Alden has even invoked Maine Mendoza, admitting that he “fell” for his former love team partner.
Julia, meanwhile, said there is no pressure to top Kathryn’s box office victories.
“I’m proud na si Kathryn ‘yung nandoon. And kung ibe-bless kami with this film, bakit hindi? We’re happy,” she said. “After her film right now, kami ‘yung susunod. Parang natataon nga po na lagi kami ‘yung nadidikit pero happy kami kasi ang lagi naming biro sa isa’t isa, ‘Tayo ang original love team. Nami-miss na natin ang isa’t isa. Kailan tayo gagawa (movie)’.”
