MANILA, Philippines – The Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) Executive Committee announced on Sunday, January 7, that the festival’s theatrical run has been extended to January 14 due to public clamor from Filipino moviegoers. 

In a press release, MMDA acting Chairman and MMFF Overall Concurrent Chairman Atty. Don Artes said that the MMFF and MMDA “received numerous calls and requests on social media to extend the exhibition of the MMFF 2023 films.” 

The 2023 edition of MMFF, which started on Christmas Day, December 25, was supposed to end on January 7. 

𝗪𝗲 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗬𝗼𝘂! 𝗠𝗠𝗙𝗙 𝗠𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗘𝘅𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗱; 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗶𝗽𝘁𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗮𝘁 𝗣𝟭-𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻

In response to the public clamor, the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) is proud to announce that the theatrical run of its 10 movie entries is extended.… pic.twitter.com/5rGPVMdZxr

— Official MMDA (@MMDA) January 7, 2024

“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 added. 

In line with the extension, the MMFF complimentary passes will also be honored until January 14. 

Artes also announced that the MMFF 2023 has already breached the P1 billion mark, surpassing the 2022 edition’s earnings of P500 million. 

The organizers of the 49th MMFF earlier announced that they reached their target of P700 million combined ticket sales on January 2. 

As of writing, MMDA has yet to name the films that have the highest gross sales receipts. 

The organizers also remain hopeful that the earnings will still increase as moviegoers can watch more entries now that the festival has been extended. The highest grossing MMFF edition was in 2018 when the festival reached the P1.060 billion mark. 

“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),” Artes said. 

The MIFF will run from January 29 to February 2 in Los Angeles, California. All 10 entries from MMFF 2023 will be screened. 

The 10 participating films are A Mother and Son’s Story, (K)Ampon, Penduko, Rewind, Becky and Badette, Broken Hearts Trip, Firefly, GomBurZa, Mallari, and When I Met You in Tokyo.

GomBurZa garnered the highest number of accolades, collecting a total of seven awards. Meanwhile, Firefly won Best Picture and Best Screenplay. – Rappler.com