Irene Emma Villamor’s The Loved One, starring Anne Curtis and Jericho Rosales, has crossed the symbolic PHP100M benchmark at the Philippines box office, making it the first locally produced hit of 2026 and encouraging the Philippine film industry to experiment further with discounted ticket sales.
The romantic drama, produced by Viva Films and Cornerstone Studios, was released nationwide on February 11 and grossed $1.9M (PHP110M) in just nine days. This figure was achieved even though tickets were being sold at discounted rates in the SM Cinemas and Robinsons Movieworld circuits.
In SM Cinemas, tickets were being sold at $4.70 (PHP275) in Metro Manila and $4 (PHP230) in provincial branches. Robinsons has been offering 45% discounts in select theatres, with some ticket prices as low as $1.70 (PHP99).
High ticket prices have been cited as a major factor holding back box office recovery in the Philippines, where annual box office is still only around half of pre-pandemic levels. Ticket prices rose substantially after the pandemic, sometimes to around $9 (PHP550) for premium releases, in a territory where the minimum wage in the country is around $12 (PHP700 pesos) per day.
Viva Films’ content aggregation chief Ronald Arguelles described the film’s success as a “triumph of combined marketing elements”. In addition to the lower ticket pricing, the film’s star power, the subject matter and the theme song Multo by Cup Of Joe, currently one of the Philippines’ hottest bands, are all contributing to the film’s success.
“Multo is currently the most streamed song in the Philippines on Spotify; Filipinos love to see a bittersweet romantic drama on Valentines weekend; and the Gen Z audience identified this as a film for their generation,” Arguelles explained.
Viva Films CEO Vincent del Rosario further elaborated: “The narrative is tailored to resonate with a Filipino audience, capturing the essence of a generation seeking a poignant romantic drama with characters that reflect their own experiences. Viva’s significant contribution has been instrumental in shaping the film’s potential for success, and Jericho Rosales and Anne Curtis’ involvement is a considerable factor in its anticipated box office performance.”
“The reduced cinema ticket prices also helped make the film more accessible to a wider audience,” del Rosario added.
Commenting on the film’s subject matter, director Villamor, said: “The audience perceives the narrative and events depicted in the film as remarkably specific and personal, thereby rendering them relatable.”
The story follows a couple’s relationship from the romance of first encounters through to moving in together, then through the impact of real-life problems – jealousy, death of a parent, work-related issues, money, pregnancy and miscarriage – providing a more realistic portrayal of a relationship than the average romantic drama usually delivers.
The film has also been released internationally in North America, United Arab Emirates and Australia.
Viva Films is one of the Philippines’ most prolific production outfits, making films for both threatrical and streaming. Last year’s theatrical releases included Mikhail Red’s supernatural horror film Lilim, starring Heaven Paralejo, and Lino Cayetano’s crime drama Salvageland, co-produced with Rein Entertainment, and starring Elijah Canlas and Richard Gomez, which Netflix recently acquired for Southeast Asia.