By Brian Jules Campued
The combined total gross of the 2023 Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) has officially reached P1 billion, said MMFF Chairperson Atty. Romando Artes on Sunday.
These gross receipts have surpassed the P500 million earnings of the 2022 film festival.
“Truly, MMFF 2023 is a certified box office hit. This is a good sign as we gear up for the Manila International Film Festival (MIFF),” said Atty. Artes.
With the success of the lineup in the recent festival, the theatrical run of the 10 film entries will be extended for another week, according to a statement on the MMDA’s official Facebook page.
The original run of the MMFF starts at Christmas day until the first week of January. It was supposed to end on Jan. 7 this year.
The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) said MMFF complimentary passes will be honored until Jan. 14.
Artes, who concurrently serves as the acting Chair of the MMDA, added that the committee received “numerous calls and requests on social media” to extend the showing of the films.
“We at the MMFF would like to express our deepest gratitude to all who have supported us and watched the movie entries, particularly those who requested for the MMFF movies to extend beyond its original run,” Artes continued.
The 10 movies in the MMFF 2023 lineup includes the Best Picture winner “Firefly”, historical feature “GomBurZa”, horror film “Mallari”, and the romance-themed “When I Met You in Tokyo”.
Other films in the selection are: “A Family of 2 (A Mother and Son Story)”, “Becky and Badette”, “Broken Heart’s Trip”, “(K)Ampon”, “Penduko”, and “Rewind”.
Earlier in December, the organizers honored the best films for the recent MMFF with Vilma Santos (“When I Met You in Tokyo”) and Cedrick Juan (“GomBurZa”) won Best Actress and Best Actor, respectively.
Meanwhile, after its run in Philippine theaters, the movie entries will next be screened in Los Angeles, California for the inaugural MIFF from Jan. 29 to Feb. 2. – avds
