The Metro Manila Film Festival was trending Monday after it returned to cinemas on Christmas Day minus the long lines, with netizens pondering what caused the lackluster reception, aside from the pandemic.
During the MMFF, which runs from Christmas week until early January, foreign films are banned from cinemas to give way to the filmfest entries, an annual mix of fantasies, comedies, family dramas, horror flicks and token indie films. This year, the casualty was "Spider-Man: No Way Home", leaving Marvel fans with a torturous, spoiler-filled wait until the festival is over.
On Monday morning, "MMFF" was among the top trending topics on Twitter in the Philippines.
ABS-CBN entertainment reporter MJ Felipe posted photos of empty ticket counters on Christmas Day Saturday, which he said were taken from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. A report on PEP.ph also said the reception was woeful.
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Why the low turnout at the cinemas? For some netizens, it's the same old schtick they don't want to pay for.
Showbiz columnist Ed de Leon blamed the indie offerings in place of movies aimed at kids. There were no entires from MMFF staples like Vice Ganda and Vic Sotto this year. Instead, it had sisters Toni and Alex Gonzaga's "ExorSIS".
"Lagapak ang MMFF ngayong araw ng Pasko. Hinahanap ng mga tao ang mga pelikulang pambata, at iyong sikat na mga artista. Naulit na naman ang karanasan noong 2016 na ang kasali ay puro mga pelikulang indie, at wala halos promo," he said on Facebook with a photo of an almost-empty ticket booth at Trinoma Cinema.
"Ayaw ng tao sa mga pelikulang hindi sikat ang artista. Ayaw ng mga tao sa mga pelikulang hindi nila kilala ang direktor. Ayaw ng mga tao sa indie. Hindi ninyo mapipilit ang tao na manood ng indie kahit na wala silang kasabay na palabas," De Leon said in another post.
Others said there were not enough indie films.
"Some of the current great pinoy filmmakers like Mikhail Red and Jerrold Tarog gave me some light to be inspired on making quality films. And I also hated the fact the they moved NWH (No Way Home) for MMFF," one tweet read.
"MMFF movies always shit anyway. Nasa indie yung tunay na gems. MCU fans still acting extra childish though, a few more weeks of waiting won't kill y'all. Kapag ayaw ma-spoil stay away from social media. Walang magagawa pagtatantrum sa twitter," according to another tweet.
For some Marvel fans, snubbing the annual Filipino-only films festival is their answer to authorities' decision to hold up the screening of "Spider-Man: No Way Home" until Jan. 8.
Prior to the screening of MMFF films, Marvel fan Lance Chua started a petition on Change.Org urging authorities to release Tom Holland's third Spider-Man film in the Philippines on Dec. 17, the same day as U.S. premiere, to avoid spoilers.
It could be because of MMFF's lack of ads to promote the entries.
"So I think it's a little unfair to say na walang support ang mga pinoy sa OPM at crybabies ang mga pinoy MCU fans. Kulang kasi ang MMFF sa creative ad and exposure," according to one tweet.
Some netizens noted that boycotting the MMFF films for the delay in "No Way Home" meant disrespecting the hard work of those working behind the scenes.
It's not Marvel versus MMFF, some said. For them, MMFF has to rise above making "bare minimum movies."
"I understand the outrage of MCU fans but it's Sony who decided the delay and MMFF is a yearly event. however, MMFF lost its relevance among some parts of the Filipino society since they promote commercial nonsensical comedy films. They should go for the avant-garde ones," according to one tweet
"Empty cinemas this year is not because of MCU fans. Our movie's not there, naturally we wouldn't come. COVID restrictions might be a factor but MMFF needs to take a good hard look at the movies they produce and their marketing campaigns starting with your movie trailers," another said.
"I don't mind having MMFF, pero the problem is that MMFF continues to premiere movies that were produced for profit's sake. Quantity over quality," netizen Ronnie Guanlao said.
"Stuck between the urge to be mad why they delayed no way home and the need to appreciate Filipino cinema but it's also important to highlight how MMFF, for the recent years, has been prioritizing bare minimum movies instead of giving platforms to quality indie films," said @courtdarrel.
Others note other factors like fear of catching COVID-19 and ther lack of online screening. In 2020, all MMFF movies were held online and allowed to screen outside the Philippines due to the pandemic.
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