How ‘Calungsod’ tries to recover MMFF losses
Now that the frenzy is over, producers of “My Little Bossings” and “Girl Boy Bakla Tomboy” have all the reasons to celebrate as the two movies account for over P600 million or 60 per cent of the 2013 Metro Manila Filmfest’s (MMFF) total earnings.
“Pedro Calungsod,” “10,000 Hours,” “Boy Golden” and “Kaleidoscope,” on the other hand, are suffering financial setbacks since they are at the bottom rungs where MMFF revenues are concerned.
The discrepancy is glaring. The highly-criticized family movies get a huge chunk of MMFF’s billion-peso revenue; while big budget period movies like “Pedro Calungsod” and “Boy Golden” are still far behind in getting their investments back.
Related: ‘My Little Bossings’ leads MMFF box office on first day
But for the producer of the religious movie, it’s not too late. Just like the renowned Filipino saint it glorifies, “Calungsod” will still find its way.
“'Yung movie kasi when it's finished sa MMFF, it would normally get DVD or film rights to TV or cable. A movie like 'Pedro Calungsod' has longer longevity,” producer Ida Tiongson told Yahoo Philippines OMG!
Thanks to strong backing from the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP), a large network of Catholic schools in the country, “Calungsod” may soon find its home in every sectarian school.
“'Yung CEAP endorsement, ngayon nga nafi-feel na namin 'yung maraming inquiries. A few sectarians were saying, ‘O, may endorsement na 'to, uunahan ko na para matuto 'yung anak ko.' It becomes like a homework for the kids.”
Also read: Industry insiders defend MMFF from backlash
‘David vs. Goliaths’
The way the soft-spoken Tiongson sees it, the movies that lagged behind were not necessarily weak. The giants are just plenty in number and promotional resources.
“Masyadong silang (blockbuster movies) malakas, hindi kami ‘yung mahina. Last year isa lang ‘yung malakas (“Sisterakas”), this year tatlo. If you look at the pie, nasa 90% (cinemas) kanila, nagshe-share kaming apat sa 10%.”
One Facebook user aptly used a metaphor in describing “Pedro Calungsod” beside the mainstream giants: “The other movies are like candies, they look so yummy. But if you eat it, masisira ngipin mo. Yours is like a vegetable, it's not as palatable but it will make you healthy.”
Tiongson also pointed out how disadvantaged their movie is considering that all the blockbusters have TV affiliations where they get much better exposure.
“I believe, had we been given a chance to also bombard on TV, [we’ll fare better.] We were of course restricted. It's not a level playing field that way.”
Battle of cinemas
Another factor is the way cinemas heavily favored the crowd-drawing movies—all in the name of business.
“First day, we did quite well. [MMFF raffled off] 40-45 cinemas each, but outside cinemas have different owners. Star Cinema magaling humanap… 100 plus cinemas sila, 45 lang kami.”
Unfortunately, some cinemas have cut short the screening of under-performing movies—even while the film fest was still on its first day—to give way to bigger titles.
Nationwide cinemas carrying “Pedro Calungsod” decreased to 19 as of January 3.
That’s why its director, Francis Villacorta has issued an appeal:
“I hope MMFF can have a deal with the cinemas that whatever is raffled, stick to it even on first week [because] it's unfair to the smaller companies. Nakakaawa. [This way] the audience can [also] have a fair choice.”
Villacorta—trying to find the reason behind his movie’s fate—found the answer from his nine-year-old niece who played a small part in the movie.
“That maybe San Pedro Calungsod and God have a different purpose that won’t be achieved at this point. Maybe it has to really go the missionary way [like Calungsod did]. Bring it out.”
