FDCP’s Joey Reyes on how Philippine cinema can win back audiences
MANILA, Philippines — Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) chair Joey Reyes offered a blunt assessment of the local film industry when asked to look back on the year that was.
“It was a bad year in terms of number. It was also a bad year in terms of creative output,” direk Joey said when The STAR spoke to him on the sidelines of the FDCP-sponsored screening for the Oscars 2026 Best Picture nominee “The Secret Agent.”
The Cinema Exhibitors Association of the Philippines earlier told this paper that there was no local blockbuster for 2025.
The Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF), long considered the industry’s biggest commercial stage, reflected the slump.
No official figures have been released, but reports suggest that the overall box-office performance of the latest MMFF edition fell short of its targets.
According to direk Joey, the 2025 MMFF entries “Call Me Mother” and “Shake, Rattle & Roll: Evil Origins” were among the stronger performers last year, alongside Kim Chiu-Paulo Avelino’s big-screen debut as a pairing, “My Love Will Make You Disappear,” and Cathy Garcia-Sampana’s tearjerker “Meet, Greet & Bye.”
For him, however, the underperformance cannot be pinned on a single cause.
“In our discussions with producers, we realize… last December, hindi celebratory ang tao,” he said, pointing to a confluence of factors that tempered consumer spending.
“Dahil katatapos lang na disaster sa Cebu, dahil din sa bagyo, dahil sa politics, ang gulo-gulo, and dahil magulo ang politics, yung hawak ng pera nag-iingat… Tsaka ang tao hindi gumasta nung Pasko.”
He observed that people opted for other ways of entertaining themselves, like dining out.
“Dec. 30, I went to Alabang Town Center,” he recalled. “Walang tao sa sinehan pero punong puno lahat ng restaurant. Ikinain ng tao yung pera nilang pang-entertainment.”
Direk Joey likewise noticed that the MMFF drew higher attendance numbers after the New Year. “Because prior to that, wala sa Manila yung tao, nagsi-alisan, nagbakasyon. Yung mga nanood, after New Year.”
The “more reliable playdate” of November, which saw the nationwide theatrical run of “Meet, Greet & Bye,” also coincided with the natural disasters in Cebu. “So that’s beyond anybody’s control,” he said.
Meanwhile, among the box-office leaders for the 2025 MMFF, he noticed a pattern.
“If you assess the two films that (won) in the (MMFF box-office)... yung pampamilya (‘Call Me Mother’) ni Vice Ganda and yung pang barkada ng ‘Shake, Rattle and Roll: Evil Origins,’” he pointed out.
The absence of a “child-friendly” film could be another factor.
“At saka tama naman sinabi nila, wala talagang pambata. But super kumita yung Vice diba and I wouldn’t say super kumita but (‘Shake’) was OK, so sabi ko ah yung pampamilya at pang barkada.”
Nevertheless, he stressed that the downturn is not unique to the Philippines. “It’s a worldwide problem,” he added, citing the situation in entertainment powerhouses Hollywood and South Korea.
“So (you say) ang sagot, ano ang gagawin natin para mapabalik ang tao sa sinehan… until you realize it’s a worldwide problem. Maski sa America ganyan. South Korea, bagsak din. Indonesia lang ang bongga.”
For direk Joey, the more fundamental challenge now lies in adjusting to current audience behavior. Streaming platforms and mobile viewing have altered how stories are consumed. Going to the cinema is no longer automatic.
“Nag-iiba na yung habits ng tao,” he said. “Yung tao nanonood ng telepono — portable entertainment — so we have to adjust.”
“Nowadays, ‘pag nanood ka ng sine, dapat may dahilan kang manood, hindi dahil nagpapalipas-oras ka lang. Ang resulta din, pinapaganda ang mga sinehan, yung cinema experience. But if you think about it, magkano ba yung mamahaling sinehan?”
Premium cinemas now range from P700 to over P1,000 per ticket, which he said is a steep price in a market anchored on mass audiences.
“Who can afford that? Those who will watch cinema can afford that. But the base of Philippine cinema is the masa. So kelangan hanapan ng paraan para makabalik sila,” he said.
“We are really making extra effort to convince cinema theater owners to bring down ticket prices.
“Nakausap namin ang SM, ang sabi nila maximum nila is P300… P270 is base price,” he said. “But kanya-kanyang diskarte sila eh.”
Despite the numbers, direk Joey believes that the industry’s response should be recalibration, not retreat.
“We need hope… in order to have hope, you need producers to invest more money.”
At the policy level, he said that the FDCP is pursuing initiatives aimed at increasing audience access and engagement.
“We’re hoping for another Golden Age and at this level, it’s all hoping right now.”
But, he added, “we’re working on that piece by piece.”
Among these efforts is the just-launched One Flix app.
Priced at only P49 a month, the platform features newly acquired titles as well as the so-called film heritage or works by National Artists and restored classics such as “Noli Me Tangere” and “Portrait of a Filipino Artist.”
“If you want to have a sense of the history of Philippine cinema, even recent history, andudun ‘yon,” direk Joey said.
On the ground, FDCP is now looking into expanding its Cinematheques in areas outside Metro Manila, including Cebu, Baguio and Naga.
“It’s an educational hub,” he said of the importance of Cinematheques, which serve not only as screening venues but also as spaces for workshops and discussions.
“We want to emphasize regional filmmaking,” he added.
By bringing film programs outside Metro Manila and supporting local viewers and filmmakers — instead of bringing them to Manila — the FDCP hopes to grow and strengthen audiences in the regions.
Meanwhile, the downturn has also revived discussions about whether the MMFF should remain under the auspices of the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) or be handled by a film-oriented national government agency like FDCP.
“First of all, we don’t want trouble. That’s the territory of MMDA. Tsaka wala sa kapasidad namin ang maggawa ng parada at kailangan yan ng logistics,” direk Joey stressed.
“It needs the cooperation of the local government units.”
He also noted that the FDCP has already been collaborating with the MMDA as a member of the MMFF executive committee, provides financial assistance to the entries and oversees the student film component.
Plans are underway to revive the Summer MMFF for short films by students and professionals, although still in the early stages.
“In other words we do collaborate, but for us to run it, we don’t have the money, we don’t have the resources,” he stressed.
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