Someone in the booking business who’s not affiliated with Star Cinema told us it earned P8 million on opening day, no padding, and that’s pretty respectable. As proof, they have to add more theaters to accommodate the crowds. Some fans of Ate Vi, in turn, are saying Ate Guy’s movie was rejected by the Metro-Manila Filmfest screening committee. But this is not surprising since the primary consideration of the MMFF is the box office and we all know that “Thy Womb” director Dante Mendoza has yet to come up with a commercial success at the tills. His movies have won awards here and abroad, but they have yet to achieve success in the local box office. But it’s to his credit that his movie “Thy Womb” was accepted in Venice, which means it’s of good quality.
Our point is the fans should not put down the respective movies of their idols. Can’t they just both be happy that even if their idols are now both pushing 60, both are still active and respected in the industry?
We have yet to see both movies but, in all fairness, they should also not be compared with each other. Direk Chito Rono is very vocal in saying he made a suspense-thriller, not the usual pang-award dramas like “Dekada 70” and “Bata, Bata, Paano Ka Ginawa” for which Ate Vi won so many best actress awards. In the case of “Thy Womb”, it’s a serious film about cultural minorities and unconditional love. Being a Filipino, I’m rooting for it and praying that it’ll win some awards in Venice.
As for the fans, some of them are should show they’ve grown not just older but also wiser. They should discard their pure fanatical mentality. Judge a film or a TV show because of its quality, not just because of personalities like your idols star in it.
