In the Philippine cinema scene,
it is general practice for new movies, both domestic and foreign productions,
to make their premiere in the middle of the week, on Wednesdays. This release
schedule usually means that for Hollywood movies, the country gets an earlier
moment to look at the films in theaters ahead of their release in what should
be their default domestic markets. That has helped immensely in our publication
getting some early reviews in. But motion picture organizations here believe
the midweek movie premiere date is problematic in getting premiere-night
crowds. So they have moved the day to the beginning of the weekend instead.
Inquirer.NET reports that the Film Development Council of the
Philippines (FDCP) has released a memorandum for the country’s movie theaters
to shift their premiere of new movies to Friday. In a statement released
Tuesday, June 25, the FDCP Memorandum Circular (MC) No. 2019-01 which provided outlines
and regulation changes regarding the release of films in Philippine cinema. Putting
the premiere date on the start of the weekend rather than the middle of the
week, for example, would encourage larger numbers of audiences to turn out and
watch on the weekend, when most box-office readings are usually done by
industry trackers.
According to Lisa Diño,
chairwoman of the FDCP, MC 2019-01 “addresses the gaps that have long plagued
our industry when it comes to screening films in commercial theatres.” She adds
that the decision has been arrived at following consultations by the FDCP with
stakeholders in the film industry: producers, media distributors, exhibitors,
and the moviegoers themselves. The original mid-week premiere setup tended to cause
staggering of audience counts for film screenings, thus giving a less
substantial number of who goes to the premieres, particularly for movies made
in the Philippines.
In addition to the premiere date
change the Film Development Council of the Philippines’ MC 2019-01 includes
other changes to who films are screened in theaters. For example, all movies will
now be guaranteed a full first-week run minimum in cinemas, rather than being
prematurely pulled for low audience counts. Next, for their first three days’
run all movies must be full-screened, and not be double-booked in one theater.
A balance between Filipino and foreign films must also be observed in
multiplexes. Pricing will also be regularized. Metro Manila student patrons of
age 18 and below need only pay P200, while provincial rates are P150.
Finally, MC 2019-01 states that
all new movies must be given 150 days holdback following their cinematic
premieres in the country, before they are made available on other platforms
like home video or streaming. This is to maximize the revenue from traditional
box office gross for movies, domestic or foreign.
Image
courtesy of Inquirer Entertainment
