2008 Box-Office King & Queen named

One of the early showbiz issues this year was the question of who is going to be crowned box-office queen. Sarah Geronimo’s A Very Special Love hit it big at the box-office around middle of last year. But so did Ai Ai de las Alas’ Ang Tanging Ina N’yong Lahat during the 2008 Metro Manila Film Festival.

The problem with Ai Ai’s film was that it spilled over to 2009, which, of course, wasn’t her fault. Her movie, after all, only opened on Dec. 25 and by January of 2009 was still raking it in. For several weeks sometime in February therefore, the issue of who will be hailed Box-Office Queen waited to be resolved.

The organizers of the Guillermo Mendoza Memorial Scholarship Foundation, Inc. (the group behind the Box-Office King and Queen) settled this problem by giving the Box-Office Queen crown to Sarah, but at the same time bestowing to Ai Ai the title Box-Office Comedy Queen. Mrs. Corazon Samaniego, who heads the organization, believes this is the perfect resolution. And it is also timely to have two queens this time because it is the 40th year of the Box-Office King and Queen (it is actually just the 39th, but that’s an unlucky number and they want to skip that). Now that should make everyone happy.

Below is the complete list of winners:

Box-Office King — John Lloyd Cruz

Box-Office Queen — Sarah Geronimo

Film Actor of the Year — Christopher de Leon

Film Actress of the Year — Sharon Cuneta

Prince of Philippine Movies — Richard Gutierrez

Princess of Philippine Movies — KC Concepcion

Male Concert Performer of the Year — Gary Valenciano

Female Concert Performer of the Year — Sarah Geronimo

Male Recording Artist of the Year — Martin Nievera

Female Recording Artist of the Year — Sarah Geronimo

Most Popular Recording/Performing Group — Sponge Cola

Most Popular Novelty Singer — Moymoy Palaboy

Most Popular TV-Movie Love Team — Gerald Anderson and Kim Chiu

Most Promising Male Star — Aljur Abrenica

Most Promising Female Star — KC Concepcion

Most Promising Male Singer — Bugoy Drilon

Most Promising Female Singer — KC Concepcion

Most Promising Recording/Performing Group — You Got Male

Most Popular Dance Group — EB Babes

Most Popular Child Actor — Robert “Buboy” Villar

Most Popular Child Actress — Sharlene San Pedro

Most Popular Film Producer — Star Cinema

Most Popular Screenwriter — Raz Sabido de la Torre and Wenn Derramas

Most Popular Film Director — Cathy Garcia-Molina

Most Popular TV Program — Dyesebel

Most Popular TV Director — Joyce Bernal

Bert Marcelo Award — Eugene Domingo

Box-Office Comedy Kings — Dolphy and Vic Sotto

Box-Office Comedy Queen — Ai Ai de las Alas

Valentine Box-Office King and Queen — Richard Gutierrez and Marian Rivera

Outstanding Global Achievement by a Filipino Artist — Arnel Pineda and Charice Pempengco

Special Merit Award for Music (posthumous) — Francis Magalona

John Lloyd Cruz, of course, became Box-Office King on the strength of A Very Special Love, while Dolphy and Vic Sotto became the Box-Office Comedy Kings based on the performance at the tills of Dobol Trobol. The triumvirate of Tito, Vic & Joey was a close second because Iskul Bukol, the Reunion Movie also fared very well when it was exhibited in the Metro Manila Film Festival.

Sharon Cuneta was voted Film Actress of the Year for Caregiver. Her closest rival to the title was Judy Ann Santos (for Ploning). Christopher de Leon, on the other hand, was named Film Actor of the Year for Magkaibigan.

The coronation night of the Box-Office King and Queen has no definite date yet because Sarah, who is the recipient not only of the highest honor, but of several other awards as well, will be away for a long time. The show, however, will still be produced by Tessie Celestino-Howard of Airtime Marketing, Inc. and will be aired on ABS-CBN in its late Sunday night slot.