Saturday Update: "Da Possessed" dominates, but not too big

Cast of Da Possessed Source: Star Cinema

While it didn't reached my expectations, Da Possessed opened up on top on Black Saturday.

According to Star Cinema, Da Possessed  opened to a strong ₱ 17 million. That's almost half of the opening of last year's It Takes a Man and A Woman (₱ 32 million) and in line with 2011's Pak! Pak! My Dr. Kwak! (₱15 million) which both opened on the same day (Black Saturday).

That may be a very good opening but with The Amazing Spiderman 2 coming next week, it should have opened higher because it may lose a big number of cinemas starting on Wednesday. For example: Pak! Pak! My Dr. Kwak! held on its second week but crashed on the third weekend (time when Fast Five opened).

For now, ₱27 million is locked for Da Possessed for its first 2 days though it can reach up to ₱33 million or more if it can hold today (Sunday).

Weekly Forecast: Vhong Navarro to "possess" a big audience

Vhong Navarro in Da Possessed

 

This Black Saturday, Vhong Navarro returns to the big screen with his new movie Da Possessed. Last year, It Takes a Man and a Woman opened on the same week with ₱60 million and ended with a strong ₱375 million. Can Da Possessed follow the same mark?

After one of the biggest happenings in his life, Vhong Navarro is back with his new horror-comedy movie. His last movie Bulong was a hit back in 2011. His daily noontime show It's Showtime continues to draw strong ratings. His popularity continues to rise among young viewers. Also, comedy movies are a sure hit in the country.

 The Philippine Cinema has been on the rise on the previous years. For Example: Rio 2 opened 160 percent above Rio (2011). That example alone shows that there has been a rise in the number of moviegoers right now. These may help Da Possessed to open strong. 


For its first two days, I predict Da Possessed to open in line with It Takes a Man and a Woman. So, it should atleast gross ₱50 million. 

 Prediction:
1. Da Possessed - ₱65 million (2 Days Only)
2. Rio 2 - ₱20 million (2 Days Only)

Box Office: "Rio" flies higher

Rio 2

On the final week before the Holy Week, animated sequel Rio 2 took first place this weekend. Meanwhile, holdovers Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Diary ng Panget do decent holds.

Playing at 201 theaters, Rio 2 opened with ₱63.96 million. That's 160 percent higher than its original movie Rio (₱24.57 million). The opening is also the highest opening for an animated movie this year beating The Lego Movie (₱23.7 million) and Mr. Peabody and Sherman (₱13.24 million).  
 

With Holy Week starting on Monday (and already the top choice of the moviegoers this week) and with no serious competition (How To Train Your Dragon 2 opens 2 months from now), it is likely that Rio can pass ₱150 million by the end of its run.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier dropped 52 percent with ₱30.1 million. In three weeks, the Marvel movie has grossed a very good ₱288 million.

Diary ng Panget fell 55 percent with ₱27 million. That's a fine drop for a local movie. So far, the book adaptation has grossed ₱102 million. It's unlikely that it can pass 150 million unless it can hold this coming Easter Holiday.

Son of God was up 15 percent with ₱8.12 million. That increase was largely caused by its story (The life of Jesus Christ is perfect for Holy Week) which attracted religious moviegoers (older audience)

Divergent held well this week. It managed to gross ₱6.2 million which was just off 23 percent from last week. In four weeks, it has already banked ₱68.3 million.

Other grosses:
Haunt - ₱3.44 million
Sabotage - ₱1.98 million; New total - ₱ 8.37 million
300: Rise of an Empire - ₱ 0.36 million; New total - ₱145.8 million
The Lego Movie - ₱ 0.07 million; New total - ₱50.9 million

Source: Box Office Mojo 

Weekly Forecast: Can "Rio" flies above "Captain America" & "Diary ng Panget"?

Rio 2 (Source: IMDB)

After 3 years, the sequel to Rio will finally open this week. But can it beat last week top movies?

The first Rio opened to 24 million and ended its run with 71 million. It was a solid family movie. After three years, the sequel has finally arrived with Amazon as their new setting.

In the country, original animated movies are not that strong. But, most animated sequels rise over the first movie and the last animated movie of the year was Mr. Peabody and Sherman which is now gone in the cinemas. The Pacquiao-Bradley fight on Sunday won't even hurt big the movie. These factors will help Rio 2 to open bigger.

I expect Rio 2 to open between 33-40 million, enough to have a strong battle for number 1 with Captain America and (possilbly) Diary ng Panget. Anything lower than that would be surprising but anything higher than that won't be surprising.


Prediction:
1. Rio 2 - 34 million
2. Captain America: The Winter Soldier - 27 million (-60%)
3. Diary ng Panget - 25 million (-59%)


Note: These are only the projections of the author.

Box Office: "Captain America" holds, "Diary ng Panget" dominates

Captain America: The Winter Soldier (Source: IMDB)

Two movies were in head-to-head this week. But, Captain America: The Winter Soldier manages to win over a new hit Filipino movie Diary ng Panget

The Captain America sequel dropped 58 percent to 65.3 million on its second week. This drop is better than last year's Thor: The Dark World (67 percent) and the first Captain America (65 percent). Overall, The Winter Soldier has now earned PHP 250.54 million which is higher than the total gross of the first movie (PHP 150 million) and is on track for a 330 million total.

We know that this will be a hit among the younger audience, but not this big. Diary ng Panget opened to a strong 61.32 million. That's almost eight times higher than the recent novel adaptation ABNKKBSNPLko? The Movie which earned a poor 8 million.

Diary ng Panget is a series from an online website Wattpad. When it turned out to be a hit, they have released a book series which also dominated the book sales which means Diary ng Panget has already built a fanbase among teenagers. The cast may not be famous, but they have also helped to draw among teenagers.

If it continues to attract teenagers, it can dominate the box office for the next weeks. But, as Holy Week comes next week and Star Cinema's Da Possessed opens the following week, a 150 million total is unlikely. But, it is still a major win for VIVA Films which has been struggling to find a new hit movie in the recent years. 

In third place, Y/A Adaptation Divergent earned 8.2 million. While that drop (33 percent)  is far better than The Hunger Games (76 percent), it now trails THG by 70 million. In three weeks, it has now grossed PHP 62.17 million.

Son of God and Sabotage opened in fourth and fifth place with 7.17 million and 5.56 million respectively. Both movies opening are low but still decent.

Other grosses:
300: Rise of an Empire - PHP 607,938; New Total - PHP 148.4 million
Need For Speed - PHP 143,435; New Total - PHP 36.53 million
The Lego Movie - PHP 118,617; New Total - PHP 51.97 million

Source: Box Office Mojo
April 2-6, 2014 Box Office Totals