Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 9) — The country’s movie industry is losing ₱12 billion in box-office revenues as cinemas remain closed amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Film Development Council of the Philippines said.
“Masakit siya kasi akala namin na nakakita na kami ng silver lining, dahil ₱12 billion na ang nawawala sa industriya. We really need the cinemas, 80% ng revenue na kinikita ng mga filmmakers natin, mga producers nain ay sa sinehan natin,” FDCP chairperson Liza Diño-Seguerra told CNN Philippines.
[Translation: It’s disappointing because we thought we have already seen a silver lining, because the industry is losing ₱12 billion. 80% of revenues earned by filmmakers and producers come from cinemas.]
She said filmmakers earn more in cinemas than in movie streaming platforms.
“Kahit meron na tayong mga bagong platforms, meron na tayong mga streaming platforms, hindi pa rin ito maikukumpara sa kinikita ng ating mga producers kapag pinapalabas muna sa sinehan,” Diño-Seguerra said.
[Translation: Even though we already have new platforms like streaming platforms, this cannot compare to what our producers earn when they show their films in cinemas.]
Metro Manila mayors earlier decided to keep cinemas and gaming arcades closed given the rising number of COVID-19 cases in the region. The World Health Organization said Metro Manila continues to record a high number of infections daily as there is still a “thick chain” of transmission in the community.
Diño-Seguerra said 460,000 workers in the film and audiovisual industry were affected by the pandemic. With this, the FDCP is relying on the cash aid meant for the industry workers under the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act or Bayanihan 2.
“Kasama ang film and audiovisual workers sa Bayanihan 2. And dahil in-extend itong pagbigay ng support sa Bayanihan 2, hinihintay na lang namin na ilabas ng DOLE (Department of Labor and Employment) ang ₱5,000 to ₱8,000 sa mga manggagawa ng industriya ng pelikulang Pilipino,” she said.
[Translation: The film and audiovisual industry workers will benefit from Bayanihan 2. And because Bayanihan 2 was extended, we are just waiting for the DOLE to release the P5,000 to P8,000 aid for the workers of the Philippine movie industry.]
She added the FDCP has also recently released ₱12 million to support scriptwriters, producers, post-production staff, and distributors. Another ₱15 million will be released soon, she said.
For now, the film industry has to wait for a while once the situation becomes better.
“We are actually one of the last pa rin talaga na I would say magre-reopen because we are still in the middle of the pandemic. Nakita naman natin ngayon even if the government started creating these protocols to allow the cinemas to open, dahil tumataas pa rin ang cases ngayon, sarado pa rin,” Diño-Seguerra said.
[Translation: We are actually one of the last sectors that would reopen in the future because we are still in the middle of the pandemic. We can see right now that even though the government has started creating these protocols to allow the cinemas to open, they are still closed because of the rising cases.]
