Low turnout for MMFF

LOOK: As of 1PM, this is the situation at Glorietta 4 Cinemas in Makati. No crowd, no queues. Pre-COVID, this used to be packed with moviegoers on Christmas day. | via @mjfelipe pic.twitter.com/xZZJxt27DW

— ABS-CBN News (@ABSCBNNews) December 25, 2021

Photos from reports reveal that malls all over the metro had little to no lines for the cinema on the first day of MMFF last December 25. Two years ago, pre-pandemic, the scene would be crowds lining up to snag tickets on Christmas day just to spend time with family laughing at light, clichéd comedy films.

LOOK: Low turnout of moviegoers at SM Megamall, as of 3:45 p.m. | via @mjfelipe pic.twitter.com/WpWsdgI1jS

— ABS-CBN News (@ABSCBNNews) December 25, 2021

 

Pinoys have valid reasons for skipping MMFF

According to some staff and customers, some of the factors affecting the low turn out: customers looking for more children-friendly movies, food not allowed inside the cinemas, people might still be going around and the weather (some areas experiencing scattered rain showers). pic.twitter.com/peDY5vyARN

— ABS-CBN News (@ABSCBNNews) December 25, 2021

Aside from the fact that we’re still in the middle of the pandemic, moviegoers also reasoned out that this year’s roster of films isn’t child-friendly. There isn’t a Vice Ganda flick on the list, no usual Vic Sotto mindless, fantastic entry. A report also cited that the unpredictable weather and the fact that no one can eat in the cinema, let alone sit side by side, are also top reasons Pinoys are thinking of skipping the festival this year.

Many also observed that, unlike the previous years, it seemed as if the 2021 MMFF wasn’t as heavily advertised. While they did have a parade of ferry boats going from the Guadalupe Ferry Station going to Circuit Makati, it seemed to be a small effort to get the word out there.

 

Pinoy Marvel fans disappointed over delayed Spider-Man: No Way Home screening

Aside from what moviegoers cited in the ABS-CBN report, some Pinoys think there’s another reason why the festival is flopping. It simply isn’t interesting enough compared to the delayed Spider-Man: No Way Home movie.

A few weeks ago, Columbia Pictures Philippines dropped the news that the Philippines will have delayed streaming of Spider-Man: No Way Home. That pushed the screening of the highly anticipated film starring Tom Holland to January 8, 2022, instead of the world premiere last December 17. To Pinoy Marvel fans, this means the rest of the world already watched it three weeks prior and they will have to fight for their lives trying to avoid spoilers on the timeline.

The disappointment was evident with the hashtag #DontDelayNoWayHomePH which trended for a few days on Twitter. There was even an online petition (with 44k signatures!) to beg Columbia Pictures Philippines to release the movie with the rest of the world. Obviously, that didn’t happen. Select cinemas in the Metro are currently screening the film, but thousands of Marvel fans still don’t have access to it.

 

The Internet, in turn, is disappointed with Marvel fans

While many Marvel fans have been basically gloating over the low turnout at the 2021 MMFF, some Pinoys are firing back, saying they shouldn’t be happy that the local film industry is struggling. Moviegoers earlier expressed their fear of crowds and the weather, but following some Marvel fans’ logic, it seems as if these fears don’t apply to a Spider-Man screening.  “So kung [Spider-Man] ang palabas, manonood kayo [without] hesitations? Wow. Grabe. Pinoy nga kayo,” said one tweet.

 

A discussion on the quality of local films

Let’s admit it, the MMFF hasn’t exactly given everyone stellar movie line-ups in the past. There’s always the mindless comedy flicks, the clichéd over-the-top fantasy movies, and the usual cheesy rom-coms that we’ve already got plenty of. But everyone’s opinion on “quality” varies on the Internet.

For example, people are still commending the 2016 MMFF where, for a change, the committee put indie films on the roster. Then, the festival screened Jun Luna’s Die Beautiful, Avid Liongoren’s Saving Sally, and Baby Ruth Villarama’s Sunday Beauty Queen, among others. But the gross ticket sales from 2016 only amounted to P373.3 million, not even half of the previous year’s P1.020 billion. (The 2015 lineup included Wenn V. Deramas’ Beauty and the Bestie [Vice Ganda] and Jose Javier Reyes’s My Bebe Love:#KiligPaMore [Vic Sotto, Ai Ai Delas Alas, AlDub].)

I think this is one of the best #MMFF years pic.twitter.com/ur3mXe44Ap

— ricci (@ricci_richy) December 25, 2021

After the 2016 indie films, the 2017 MMFF went back to mainstream movies. It featured Joyce Bernal’s Gandarrapiddo: The Revenger Squad (Vice Ganda, Daniel Padilla) and Chris Martinez’s Meant to Beh (Vic Sotto, Dawn Zulueta), to name a few. The festival raked in a P1.02 billion overall gross. Seeing these numbers, is it still all about the quality?

If films like On the Job: The Missing 8 and MMFF movie Kun Maupay Man It Panahon won international awards, that proves the Philippines can produce quality films worthy of a global audience. But are these kinds of films what the people want? The Internet can shout all they want that MMFF deserves to get flak for its movies, but if it’s what the general public wants to see, who are they to change an age-old formula?

 

It’s a Christmas tradition

Regardless, it’s in poor taste to dunk on local films just because what you wanted to see isn’t available. It sucks to be a Pinoy Marvel fan right now, but everyone knows local cinemas during Christmas time belong to the MMFF. Some speculate that the committee blocks international films for fear that people will flock to those screenings over the MMFF entries. Those speculations could be right. But then again, MMFF is a Filipino tradition — one that’s been around for almost five decades.

 

Waiting patiently for an online festival

Pinoy netizens have also voiced their request to put some of the films online like MMFF did last year. Why couldn’t it be a hybrid festival? At least then, Pinoys have an option to make that trip to the cinema if they want to but they can also stay at home, buy tickets to online streaming, and watch from the comfort of their homes.

 

Which movies can you watch at the 2021 MMFF?

In 2020, the MMFF went digital for the first time due to the pandemic and closed cinemas. This year marks their return to the big screen from December 25, 2021 to January 7, 2022. Eight movies are included in the competition:

• A Hard Day by Dir. Lawrence Fajardo | Dingdong Dantes, John Arcilla
• Big Night by Dir. Jun Robles Lana | Christian Bables, Eugene Domingo, Janice De Belen, John Arcilla
• Huling Ulan sa Tag-Araw by Dir. Louie Ignacio | Rita Daniela, Ken Chan
• Huwag Kang Lalabas by Dir. Adolf Alix Jr | Kim Chiu, Jameson Blake, Beauty Gonzalez, Aiko Melendez
• Kun Maupay Man It Panahon (Whether the Weather is Fine) by Dir. Carlo Francisco Manatad | Daniel Padilla, Francinne Rifol, Charo Santos-Concio
• Love at First Stream by Dir. Cathy Garcia-Molina | Kaori Oinuma, Jeremiah Lisbo, Daniela Stranner, Anthony Jennings
• Nelia by Dir. Lester Dimaranan | Winwyn Marquez, Raymond Bagatsing
• The Exorsis by Dir. Fifth Solomon | Toni Gonzaga, Alex Gonzaga

There’s still time to gather your friends and family and watch these films in cinemas nationwide.

 

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