Pacman flick suffers film fest knockout - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos

Pacman flick suffers film fest knockout - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos

By Bayani San Diego Jr.

Philippine Daily Inquirer

SEVEN-TIME world champion Manny Pacquiao may have knocked out 38 of his 55 opponents, but he has failed to bring his billion-peso punch from the boxing ring to the box office.

Pacquiao’s superhero flick “Wapakman” landed in last place, earning only P750,000 on the first day of the two-week Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF).

Reyes, the director behind two MMFF top-grossers (“Kasal, Kasali, Kasalo” in 2006 and “Sakal, Sakali, Saklolo” in 2007), offered a theory on Pacquiao’s lackluster performance in the box office. “Filipinos adore him as a prizefighter … as an athlete, but apparently not as an actor, singer … not even as a politician,” Reyes said. The filmmaker recalled that Pacquiao lost in his first congressional bid in 2007 when he ran against Rep. Darlene Antonino-Custodio in South Cotabato. He is running again in next May’s elections, this time for the lone congressional seat of Sarangani.Reyes said Pacquiao’s entry in the MMFF two years ago, “Anak ng Kumander,” was also a tail-ender at the tills, earning barely P2 million by the end of the festival.

“People will stop their lives to watch him fight in the ring, but it seems they will not go out of their way to watch him goof around in a movie,” Reyes said. “He is a real-life hero; not a superhero.” There is also an opinion running in the entertainment industry that rumors of his romantic fling with “Wapakman” costar Krista Ranillo didn’t help in promoting what is ostensibly a family movie—in the same way that gossip of an illicit romance with “Kumander” costar Ara Mina didn’t help their film at the box office.

“There is a disconnect, publicity-wise. That’s possible,” Reyes said. “But in Pinoy macho society, there’s nothing too scandalous, shocking or salacious about the gossip regarding Manny and Krista, anyway.” In an earlier interview, Pacquiao said he hoped that the “intrigue-mongers” would watch his movie with Ranillo. “What’s the use of the intrigues if our movie doesn’t make money?” he said in Filipino.

From all indications, the controversy didn’t help.

“He is an icon. A legend. He has to know his limits, his parameters,” Reyes said. “As a media personality, his biggest achievement is that he gave the world his mother, Dionisia, who is such a colorful character.”