The teaser alone for “The Loved One,” Viva’s Valentine offering, has chalked up at least five million organic views since its release on December 30 last year.
Contributing factors may be attributed to the fact that it’s a long-overdue reunion movie of Anne Curtis and Jericho Rosales. After all, Anne and Echo’s first and last team-up was via Viva’s romantic war film “Baler” in 2008.
Credit also goes out to Cup of Joe’s phenomenal hit “Multo” as this upcoming movie’s official theme song.
As early as 2024, media releases about the then-untitled film starring Anne and Jericho had already been circulating. It wasn’t until a few months later that the director was announced to be Irene Villamor.
It’s expected that, between the two lead stars, Jericho will get much greater media mileage, thanks to his current affairs of the heart. This poses no hassle for the actor’s flame, Janine Gutierrez, who’s the “willing prey,” all in the name of love.
It’s a beautiful kind of “showbiz gamitan” (users in showbiz) which Janine will even consent to and maybe initiate to benefit her beau.
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Nathan Studios’ MMFF 2025 entry “I’m Perfect” ranked sixth at the box office, all right. Any producer would have been understandably disheartened by the turnout, because, after all, everything comes back to business.
But providential as it seems, the film’s underwhelming box-office turnout is nothing compared to the producer’s inner joy in pursuing a thematic project no film capitalist had dared touch before.
If only for its tenacious, against-all-odds effort, the Down Syndrome-themed entry has every right to claim that it, too, is perfect.
With virtual nobodies in the lead cast, placing sixth wasn’t bad, after all. By comparison, “I’m Perfect” was — if it’s any consolation — the second highest-grossing family drama next to “Call Me Mother.”
Best of all, the producer no doubt succeeded in correcting public misconceptions, if not distorted mindsets and twisted attitudes toward persons with DS.
Anyway, this writer gets a funny feeling about the producer’s cinematic output so far — at least based on the titles, twists, and themes.
Nathan Studios’ maiden offering was “Topakk” (2024), followed by “I’m Perfect” (2025). I wonder what human condition/imperfection this time gets tackled if it competes in this year’s MMFF again?
Meanwhile, with the film way past producer Sylvia Sanchez’s concern, she’s looking forward to finally taking a well-deserved post-holiday break: “At last, I can take a rest this February!”