Moviegoers got served with a remarkable treat yesterday, October 15 SM Cinemas, offered a ₱65-promo in all its branches nationwide, for SM’s 65th anniversary celebration.

Is the blockbuster turnout of SM Cinema’s ₱65-movie promo an indication that local moviegoers are not going to cinemas, simply because of expensive movie ticket prices. Gone are the days when long queues at the theater entrance are a regular scene in a mall. In the past three years, we only get to see  long lines of moviegoers only during the Metro Manila Film Festival, which has already suffered a sharp decline in attendance, not only because of the pandemic, but also of the uninviting expensive ticket prices.

These days, regular movie tickets are priced at ₱300 each.  Five years ago, it was not even ₱200 in most malls. Such is the biggest reason seen by many that discourage locals to see movies on the big screen. After all, streaming is so much more affordable these days, and of course, online piracy makes it even easier for those looking for visual entertainment, to access tons of movies and TV shows.

Director Victor Kaiba Villanueva (Patay Na Si Hesus, I’m Not Big Bird) is just one of many who took to X (Twitter) to express awe at the spectacular turnout that SM Cinema’s rare promo, produced.

“Long lines sa SM 65pesos cinemas, gusto naman talaga manood ang madlang people ng sine, kaso ang mahal talaga ng standard tickets na 300 pesos up. May “learnings” kaya dito na pwede i apply sa local films?,” he posted, seemingly suggesting the local movie industry has something to learn from SM Cinema’s one day promo.

Other netizens seemed to have understood Villanueva’s point, and addressed directly the elephant in the room.

Aimee thinks that a 130-150 pesos price for a movie ticket seems reasonable enough to draw audiences back to theaters, addrssing her appeal towards cinema owners. “Hoping na ma realized ng mga producer at Cinema Owner ang benefits kung ibabalik nila sa kahit 130 or 150 pesos ang presyo ng ticket. Mas mura mas maraming sales. Ang mga fans mas maraming BS Ang kayang gawin,” her post on X reads.

https://twitter.com/wander_noodles/status/1713512307110953140

Another X user, @wander_noodles, provided an insight on what sets the Philippine movie industry from the rest of the world, noting the hefty taxes that film makers have to deal with, when producing and distributing movies. “The Philippine movie industry is probably the most overtaxed in the world: 33% of the gross goes to the municipal tax, 12% to VAT, and another 8% to assorted fees. Roughly 52% of a movie’s gross earnings is eaten up by taxes, and none of it goes back to the movie industry, “ she posted.

Shinichi echoed Kaiba and other users’ sentiments, insisting lowering ticket prices will be beneficial for all stakeholders, saying, “Matagal ko ng argument yan. Kaysa malugi ang mga movies baket di nila ibaba. Kahit sa local films lang jusko. Simulan nila sa MMFF. Ewan ko lang kung di bumalik ang sigla ng PH Box Office. Gawin nilang 100 this coming Christmas. Ewan ko lang kung di mapuno ang mga sinehan,“.

Will this be taken by those in power in the local film industry, especially the cinema owners, as a cue to finally lower ticket prices? Let’s see this coming MMFF.