At SM Megamall last Saturday, Sept. 30, a long line queued at the cinema ticket counter. It struck me as something odd as I hadn’t seen such a long line of moviegoers in a long time.

I asked one of those on the line what movie they were crowding in. I was happily surprised to learn it was a local film, "A Very Good Girl."

While the Kathryn Bernardo-Dolly de Leon film by Petersen Vargas earned a respectable opening day gross, it didn’t quite measure up to the numbers earlier set by the actress’ previous films.

Earlier, observers had anticipated the film’s opening as it was headlined by the popular young actress with an enviable track record. They had pinned their hope on the film's potential success as a sign that all would be well again in the local film industry.

 As we all know, Filipino movies have been dropping dead at ticket counters since the pandemic despite the hype attached to a few so-called hits.

It seems only foreign films enjoy the patronage of local moviegoers, raking in big hits like Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning and Oppenheimer. Perhaps it's because they’re not on Netflix just yet.

xxx

The reasons for the dismal performance of Filipino movies at the cinema are many.

Streaming sites like Netflix and VIU have tamed viewers as couch potatoes. They no longer want to leave the comfort of home to watch a movie.

Many, young and old alike, have shifted to individualized streaming services on their mobile phones. Facebook and You Tube offer not just movies but videos that cater to compartmentalized audiences.

Ticket prices have become so expensive, ranging from P300 to P650, whereas subscriptions to Netflix, for example, cost you only a few hundred pesos, depending on the package you avail.

Traffic is another concern. Bringing oneself to a nearby mall can cause you a headache due to long hours of waiting for a ride and getting there on time.

A thousand pesos isn’t enough for a family of four to go out to watch a movie. Aside from the high price of a movie ticket, one also appropriates a certain amount for food and transportation.

The signs of the times, as enumerated above, dictate and predict a film’s outcome.

These days, when everything is so uncertain, casting a major actor on top of a film is no guarantee that it will become a hit. That’s what happens when anyone but everyone can be an actor, a model, or a pseudo-journalist (vlogger, influencer). Entertainment has become so varied and diversified, unlike in the past when watching movies at the cinema was the prevailing form of entertainment.

Don’t feel sorry for Little Miss Kathryn. It isn’t her fault that her film was touted as the savior of a desperate industry. She didn’t ask for it, this added pressure on her shoulders.

"A Very Good Girl" is doing well at the box office, according to Star Cinema. Kathryn will move on from here. A thorough professional, she’s loaded with talent that can land her more projects to keep her on top of her game.