A romantic movie that teams up aga Muhlach, 54, with Julia Barretto, 26. a film that puts together Kapuso alden Richards and viva hot star Heaven Peralejo — with Richards directing the film himself for the first time.
A third movie stars together, also for the first time, real-life couple Sarah Geronimo and Matteo Guidicelli.
All three are to be produced by Viva Films this 2024 to firmly reestablish itself in the minds of moviegoers as a company that makes big films for theater screening. Not just for streaming on digital platform, but for screening in moviehouses all over the country.
For almost three years — from 2021 to the third quarter of 2023 — Viva Films was practically drowned to near-oblivion by its sister movie-streaming company, Vivamax, which is mostly into sex-heavy viewing fare. (Viva Films did produce for theater release in August 2022 some films about the Marcos family, directed by the upstart Darryl Yap whose career was born in Vivamax.)
Blame it all on the Covid-19 pandemic which prompted the closure of cineplexes starting 2021. But that led to the launching of Vivamax, which by the first quarter of 2022 had amassed 2.5 million subscribers. By the first month of 2023, it had signed up more than 6 million patrons worldwide (since there are Pinoys all over the globe!).
Wholesome movies
Vivamax, according to its top executive Vincent del Rosario, has always carried in its catalog all the wholesome movies of Viva Films starring the likes of Sharon Cuneta and Robin Padilla, Sarah Geronimo and John Lloyd Cruz, Bela Padilla and JC Santos. But just the same, the streaming company got famous (or infamous?) for its sex-heavy films that do not need approval from the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board.
Despite the forthcoming Muhlach-Barretto, Richards-Peralejo and Geronimo-Guidecelli movies, Viva Films is kicking off its 2024 theater screening calendar with the first team-up of its Vivamax-made star Kim Molina with freelance comedian Empoy Marquez, known for his well-received pre-pandemic movies with Alessandra de Rossi.
The Marquez-Molina starrer is ZomBabe, a zombie comedy movie directed by Bobby Bonifacio. It was supposed to start showing on 8 January, right after the nationwide 2023 Metro Manila Film Festival which reportedly is grossing so well (P1 billion by the first days of January 2024) that its organizers decided to extend it for a week until 14 January.
The company’s second offering will be Road Trip, starring Carmina Villarroel, Candy Pangilinan and real-life sisters Janice and Gelli de Belen.
Also showing in January are Raging Grace, starring Max Eigenmann; Itutumba Ka ng Tatay Ko, starring the recently departed Ronaldo Valdez, Janno Gibbs and Xia Vigor, the child sensation of Miracle in Cell No. 7 — with Gibbs himself directing for the first time.
The Philippine adaptation of the South Korean romantic comedy My Sassy Girl, starring Toni Gonzaga and Pepe Herrera and directed by Fifth Solomon, was also set for a January release but may have to be moved to a February schedule.
Beauteous sisters
February will be extra special for the company, with a love story for the ages in Ikaw Pa Rin ang Pipiliin Ko, headlined by Muhlach and Barretto. Directed by Irene Villamor, the movie features the music of the great George Canseco and today’s hot pop band Cup of Joe, which is managed by Viva Music, also a company under Viva Communications.
Muhlach seems to be the only actor who can boast of having romanced on camera the beauteous Barretto sisters Gretchen and Claudine. Now, he will have the niece of the two women, Julia, a daughter of their sister, Marjorie.
Muhlach was paired with Gretchen in Miguelito, Batang Rebelde (1985) and in Akin Ka, Magdusa Man Ako (1991), directed by Laurice Guillen. The film led to a short-lived off-cam romance between Muhlach and Gretchen.
The husband of actor Charlene Gonzales for more than 20 years now was also teamed up with the younger Claudine in the Star Cinema movies Dubai (2005) and Kailangan Kita (2002).
Gonzales and Muhlach have a daughter just four years younger than Julia Barretto: Atasha, who is now among the young hosts of TV 5’s Eat Bulaga (the main hosts Tito, Vic, and Joey have just reacquired through a court ruling the title claimed by TV production company TAPE, the noontime show’s pioneering producer).
Muhlach portrays a composer-band leader in Ikaw Pa Rin ang Pipiliin Ko, and Julia is a choir singer. Their paths would eventually meet and spark a May-December romance. Let’s wait and see if moviegoers will line up for it at the box office. Judging from the early publicity photos for the film, Muhlach took down a lot of poundage so he wouldn’t look like Barretto’s grandfather in the movie.