A vloggger page said it has already fired the administrator who posted about the false infographic of the alleged ticket sales of the Metro Manila Film Festival 2023 movies during Christmas Day.
“Pinoy History” on Tuesday announced that it has booted out the individual who posted the fake content on social media.
“We sincerely apologize. Everything he published is not true, the MMFF is [sic] no longer publishes about ticket sales to be fair to each film,” the page said on December 26.
“Support the Filipino cinema,” it added.
It also posted a new infographic listing the ten MMFF 2023 entries arranged in alphabetical order.
“Pinoy History” has 1.3 million followers on Facebook and over 2,300 subscribers on YouTube.
The Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA), the organizer of the MMFF, also debunked the fake graphic from the vlogger page. Its spokesperson Noel Ferrer said that the MMFF does not release ticket sales or film rankings to avoid influencing or affecting the decision of viewers.
“Fake news naman ang mga ulat na kumakalat sa Internet na nagpapakita ng mga kinita ng bawat pelikula,” the MMDA said on a Facebook post on Tuesday.
“Ang MMFF ay walang inilalabas na anumang uri ng ranking o kinita ng bawat pelikula para maiwasan na maapektuhan o maimpluwensyahan ang desisyon ng manonood. Nais ng pamunuan ng MMFF na makapagbigay ng pantay na exposure, spotlight, at suporta sa bawat pelikula,” it added.
The MMDA also thanked the public for their “all-out support” for the annual film fest.
“Bukod sa mahahabang pila sa mga sinehan simula pa noong Disyembre 25, mas malaki ang kinita sa unang araw ng film festival ngayong taon kumpara sa bentahan ng ticket sa unang araw noong 2022,” MMDA Acting Chair Don Artes, also the concurrent chairman of the MMFF, said.
The false graphic claimed that Star Cinema’s “Rewind” supposedly had P110 million gross ticket sales on December 25, followed by the Piolo Pascual-starrer horror “Mallari” at P31 million.
It alleged that this was followed by the superhero action film “Penduko” at P25 million, and the drama film “A Family of Two” at P12.5 million.
The MMFF is the annual nationwide film fest organized by the MMDA which showcases locally-made movies during the duration of the Holiday season.
Foreign movies are not distributed in regular theaters during this period.
This year’s entries are the following:
- A Family of 2 (A Mother and Son Story)
- (K)Ampon
- Penduko
- Rewind
- Becky and Badette
- Broken Heart’s Trip
- Firefly
- GomBurZa
- Mallari
- When I Met You in Tokyo
The film fest runs until Jan. 7, 2024.
ALSO READ: MTRCB announces official film ratings for MMFF 2023 entries
