MMDA to study lowering cinema ticket prices for MMFF entries
The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority said it is considering lowering the price of cinema tickets for film entries in the Metro Manila Film Festival amid criticisms that the current prices are too expensive for the average Filipino.
The agency's chairman, Don Artes, said in a press briefing that they are open to reviewing and discussing ticket pricing with cinema operators to make the festival more accessible to the public.
"May mga previous discussions naman sa Cinema Exhibitors Association of the Philippines na nagmay-may-ari ng mga sinehan. Hindi pa lang siguro namin naupuan these past years. But now, seriously, we are considering na i-request na sa kanila na i-revisit yung presyo ng sine," Artes said.
"Maybe this time, we have to try a new formula. Baka naman 'yung ibabawas natin sa ticket price ay makuha natin in terms of volume. So, pag-aaralan namin yan, pero at the end of the day, it's a business decision on the part of the cinema owners dahil alam naman natin may maintenance costs 'yan, may investment, may operating costs," he added.
He noted how the MMDA always tries to review if there is any room for improvement after every MMFF.
"Dinidiscuss namin 'yan with the producers, with the stakeholders. So aayusin namin definitely. Lagi naman kami nag-improve every time. I-aaddress namin lahat ng concerns," Artes stressed.
This comes after renowned filmmaker Jun Robles Lana, who has a fair share of MMFF films under his belt, lamented how ordinary Filipinos can no longer afford tickets to watch movies in the film festival.
"For decades, the MMFF was the 'people's festival.' It was the one time of year when ordinary workers took their children to the mall to see their idols. But today, a family of four would need at least P1,500 just to enter the theater, not including transportation or even a single bag of popcorn," he said in a post on X.
"By pricing the ordinary Filipino out of the theater, the industry hasn't just lost customers, it has lost its soul. Cinema has shifted from a shared national culture to a middle-class privilege," he added.
Lana stressed that you "cannot promote a national Film Festival while maintaining prices that exclude the nation."
"Until we admit that cinema has become a luxury that the 'P500 Noche Buena' family cannot afford, we are simply watching the slow, expensive sunset of Philippine cinema," he said.
The 51st edition of the MMFF this year included eight entries, namely, Lana's Call Me Mother, Manila's Finest, Rekonek, Shake, Rattle & Roll Evil Origins, Bar Boys: After School, I'mPerfect, Love You So Bad, and Unmarry.
