The Christmas season is hard to miss in the Philippines.

Bright lights of parol on light posts, Jose Mari Chan's Christmas in our Hearts on loop in shopping malls, misa de gallo for Catholics, and of course, the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF).

An annual filmfest since 1975, the MMFF has almost been synonymous to the Filipino way of celebrating the holidays. Families troop to cinemas housed in shopping malls on Christmas Day to watch local films, sometimes three to four of them in a day.

The two-week event, which culminates in the first week of January, has good intentions of supporting a struggling film industry. In 2024, for instance, the eight participating movies grossed over P800 million, the second largest haul since the pandemic.

But the spectacle is not spared from controversies, on and off camera.

While MMFF movies have generated their own following, film critics have raised eyebrows to what for them is the deteriorating quality of Filipino movies in arguably the most popular filmfest in the Philippines.

How the Manila filmfest lost its way

The Metro Manila Film Festival used to showcase some of the best of Philippine cinema. That is no longer the case, but critics say there are signs of improvement.


By Prinz Magtulis

Aug. 6, 2025

Unlike other film festivals, MMFF is spearheaded by the government through the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA). The filmfest was created by the Marcos Sr.-era Proclamation No. 1459, supposedly to “encourage quality film production both in substance and in form”. After all, the filmfest hands down awards to participating movies every year.
However, in fine print and reality, the festival was conceived by law as a "fund-raising campaign," both for the movie industry and the government. For Nico Quejano, a film critic and member of the Society of Filipino Film Reviewers, this is where the problem lies. "It [MMFF] was intended to raise money," he said.
"And as such, it doesn't matter whether the film is good or bad, but as long as it brings the fan to the theater, that's what important."
This "commercial bent" on the MMFF has become more obvious in the type of festival films in recent decades, said Rolando Tolentino, a professor of film at the University of the Philippines Film Institute and member of the Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino. "Thus, tried and tested formula films targeting the general public have been the regular fare of the annual festival," he said.
This formula, Quejano said, relies heavily on "bankable movie stars." In the early new millennium, those included Vic Sotto and Ai-ai de las Alas. Both actors had multiple MMFF movies and followed a specific comedy and family-oriented movie franchise from 2004 to 2011.
By the turn of the decade, Vice Ganda joined the mix through Sisterakas in 2012 with de las Alas and Kris Aquino. Ramon "Bong" Revilla Jr. was also a fixture of the filmfest, starring in fantasy films such as the Agimat series and Resiklo in the early 2000s.

Directors with the most number of filmfest entries

Best Picture

Joel Lamangan

1991

1995

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2004

2004

2005

2005

2006

2006

2007

21 films

2020

2008

2009

2018

2022

2007

Multiple entries to the MMFF in a single year

2006

1995

2000

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2007

2008

2008

2011

2015

1993

Jose Javier Reyes

1992

15

1985

1991

2010

2011

2012

2014

Tony Y. Reyes

1994

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

15

Chito Rono

1987

1988

1995

1997

1998

2013

2014

2024

2000

2012

2001

2002

2002

With Marlon Rivera

and Joyce Bernal

13

Peque Gallaga

1984

1990

1991

1992

1996

1997

1998

1999

1983

9

With Lore Reyes

1976

1977

1978

1979

1980

1983

1985

1990

Lino Brocka

8

21 films

Joel Lamangan

2000

1991

1995

1999

2001

2004

2004

2002

2003

2004

2006

2005

2007

2005

2006

2007

2008

2018

2020

2009

2022

Best Picture

15

Jose Javier Reyes

1993

2003

1992

1995

2000

2004

2005

2006

2006

2007

2007

2015

2011

2008

2008

15

Tony Y. Reyes

1991

2003

1985

1994

2002

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2014

2012

2010

2011

13

Chito Rono

1988

1998

1987

1995

1997

2000

2001

2002

2002

2012

2013

2014

2024

9

Peque Gallaga

1983

1990

1984

1992

1991

1998

1996

1999

1997

With Lore Reyes

Lino Brocka

8

1976

1977

1978

1980

1979

1990

1983

1985

Same movies, same actors, same directors. Sotto entrusted all his Enteng Kabisote movies to Tony Y. Reyes. The late Wenn Deramas topped the decade from 2010 with the most MMFF movies, thanks to de las Alas' Ang Tanging Ina franchise, and Ganda's films. Even Joel Lamangan, who produced the most MMFF movies in history, based on our tally, had a franchise series to thank for: Regal Films' Mano Po.
Quejano said franchises are easy blockbusters in the MMFF. "This is tradition. You have kids and families watching together, who are very familiar with these characters they see every year. Plus, it's less effort for the studio to produce them," he explained.
Government data showed that half of MMFF movies since 2010 were rated in need of parental guidance, which fits perfectly with family viewing. Meanwhile, around 15% of the films were deemed fit for all audiences by state regulators.
Speaking of local movie franchises, nothing is probably more successful than the horror movie, Shake, Rattle and Roll, which just concluded its sixteenth installment. The film, an anthology of three horror stories packed into a single movie, does not fall squarely to a family movie, but Laurence Marvin Castillo, another member of the Manunuri, pointed out that the Regal Films classic is a class of its own.
"It will never go out of style because it's able to flesh out horrific narratives across various historical and social contexts. Maybe that explains its success – the adaptability to changing times," Castillo said.
These familiar movie themes drive patrons to theaters, while also lowering production costs for mainstream producers. From a financial standpoint, that makes the MMFF an annual opportunity to do good business by offering time-tested box office winners. Six of Ganda's festival movies, for example, are among the 10 biggest box office earners in Philippine cinema.
"From the filmmaker's perspective, MMFF is an important opportunity," said Skilty Labastilla, a professor at Ateneo de Manila University's interdisciplinary studies department, who specializes in film.
"Because the filmfest is where you get a big audience to watch your film. It is a vehicle for you to get known and hopefully get you more projects in the future," Labastilla said in Filipino.

Majority of filmfest entries since 2010 are rated PG, G

R18

Parental guidance (PG)

R13

Gen. patronage

PG13

R16

67 films

25

20

14

7

1

PG

R13

G

PG13

R16

67 films

25

20

14

7

Gen. patronage

Parental guidance (PG)

R18

R13

PG13

R16

67 films

25

20

14

7

1

Striking a balance between a film's quality and commercial viability remains to be a persistent challenge however, and for Manunuri's Tolentino, the MMFF has sacrificed one over another. "The organizers have not lifted the quality of film taste and preferences over the nearly 50-year period of the MMFF," he said.
Castillo, for his part, recalled how the MMFF showcased some of the country's finest films in the '70s and '80s. Movies like Lino Brocka's Insiang and Ishmael Bernal's Himala remain relevant to this day. "The '70s and '80s were also the era of the so-called New Cinema, in which politically courageous and aesthetically innovative films came out from Filipino auteurs," he said.
For some, having movies that resemble that era is what the MMFF of today is lacking. But there is no shortage of efforts to at least reform the filmfest to create a more diverse set of films, although only a few of them have succeeded.
The biggest changes failed the test of business. In 2013, Quezon City, which sits in the Metro Manila Council governing the MMDA, passed a resolution calling for the agency to transfer the MMFF to the Film Academy of the Philippines, an agency that works directly with the movie industry.
In 2016, the committee that screens MMFF movies reformed the criteria to emphasize story and technical excellence over "commercial appeal." That year saw the documentary film, Sunday Beauty Queen, win Best Picture, and the first time in years that movies starring Sotto and Ganda were not qualified to compete.
Both reforms did not gain traction, and particularly in 2016, ticket sales plummeted soon after new rules were enforced. That year, only about P300 million was raised, significantly down from over P1 billion the prior year, government data showed. After the pandemic, the filmfest recovered and hit a record P1.07 billion in gross receipts in 2023.

MMFF gross earnings have started to recover from the pandemic

Criteria revised to focus on story and technical qualities

Record high

P1.0 billion

0.8

0.6

Estimates

0.4

0.2

No data

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

2024

Record high

P1.0 billion

0.8

0.6

Estimates

0.4

0.2

No

data

2012

2014

2016

2018

2020

2022

2024

Criteria revised to focus on story and technical qualities

Record high

P1.0 billion

0.8

0.6

Estimates

0.4

0.2

No

data

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

2024

Note: Earnings are based on the two-week exclusive run of the movies in local cinemas. 2020, 2023 and 2024 are estimates based on news reports because MMDA declined to provide more recent data upon request.

On the flip side, the filmfest has opened its doors to more independent films, giving movies produced by smaller studios and at a low budget a much-needed exposure. The so-called "new wave" category under the filmfest started in 2010, and years after, short films were likewise invited to participate. Both categories are still ongoing, although they compete separately from mainstream movies.
For Castillo however, the biggest gain from having "indie" at the MMFF is influence. "I think the rise of indie films created some shift in audience sensibility," he said.
"While there is an enduring perception that Filipino audiences still look for more entertaining, mainstream fare, indie cinema broadened the possibilities of producing and consuming films that diverge from these generic conventions," he explained.
Slowly, it appears that the broader MMFF is responding. Over the past two years, our analysis showed a more diverse set of filmfest entries that diverge from the typical comedy and family genres.
One metric where this is easily obvious is on the length of films. The formulaic approach to the MMFF has limited a movie's runtime to just over an hour and 30 minutes, on average. John Tawasil, also of the Society of Filipino Film Reviewers, said this is still likely a business decision as shorter films allow cinemas to accommodate more screenings in a day, driving up ticket sales.
Recent films are breaking from the average, with some being the usual suspects like the biopic GomBurZa, the story of the three Filipino priests who were garrotted by the Spaniards and became heroes. The movie runs for an hour and 50 minutes. Data showed that historical films tend to have longer runtimes than average: Marilu Diaz-Abaya's Jose Rizal, which is MMFF's most awarded film, winning 18 of 19 awards in 1999, was the longest on record at a runtime of nearly three hours.

Filmfest movies have gotten shorter

MMFF movies, by runtime

3.0 hours

Jose Rizal

El Presidente

Sa Piling ng mga Sugapa

2.5

Isang Himala

Bagong Buwan

Longer movies

2.0

1.5

Espantaho

Bona

Hiwaga ng Panday

“New wave” films

1.0

1975

1980

1985

1990

1995

2000

2005

2010

2015

2020

2024

3.0 hours

Jose Rizal

Sa Piling ng mga Sugapa

El Presidente

Isang Himala

2.5

2.0

1.5

Longer movies

Hiwaga ng Panday

1.0

1980

2000

2020

Note: Only movies with available runtime data are included.

Some however literally went out of the mold. Last year, Sotto's The Kingdom and Ganda's And the Breadwinner Is… broke the two-hour runtime, joining the musical, Isang Himala, as the longest MMFF movies. What's more, the themes of Sotto's and Ganda's latest films have tried to break away from their previous comedy films.
Castillo said: "My feeling is that there's a sense that lengthening the runtime can make the audiences feel that their return to cinemas -- especially after the pandemic -- is worth their while."
Tawasil was more cautious: "This is good, but it's too early to say if this will continue. We'll see if it's just a blip over the next filmfest," he said in Filipino.


Methodology

The Data Dictionary scraped the main data on MMFF movies from Letterboxd, collecting information on title, director, runtime, studio, and genre. The data, which is not exhaustive, was cleaned and processed, and additional research was conducted to fill in missing information. Data for those were collated mainly from IMDB and TDB websites.

Sources

Letterboxd, IMDB, TDB, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, Movie and Television Review and Classification Board

Copyright 2025 - The Data Dictionary Project