'The Trial' Movie struggles at the box-office

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"The Trial" Movie took the box-office test starting October 15. Did it pass or fail?


(taken from ABS-CBN Film Productions Facebook page)


Since it's a Star Cinema movie starring 4-time Box Office King John Lloyd Cruz and directed by Chito Roño who had a string of movie hits in the past ('Feng Shui', 'Sukob', 'Caregiver', 'The Healing' etc), 'The Trial' was expected to be a huge hit, with a gross of at least P100M by the end of its run.

But figures from Box Office Mojo showed that it won't be reaching that level after it only earned just P29.9-million in its first 5 days in theaters.

It's way behind Hollywood's 'Dracula Untold' which tallied P44.8M from same number of theaters also for its 1st 5 days, but it's way ahead of 6 other new foreign releases (such as 'The Book of Life', 'Alexander') which all earned just below P10M.

In this time of the year, moviegoers probably aren't in the mood to watch and cry for a well-reviewed drama movie (with an unusal story) like 'The Trial', and would rather be scared, thrilled or terrified. The past 3 weeks, the #1 movies in the Philippines are horror films, "Annabelle" and "Dracula Untold" (which actually looked like a horror movie, but is in fact a dark fantasy action).

Was the timing wrong for 'The Trial'? Would it be earning more if it was released on a different playdate? What if, it was shown last month, and 'Maria Leonora Teresa' should have been the one shown this month? The latter, a horror film, was shown 3rd week of September and finished off with just P72.7M. It could have earned more as well if it was released this October, a very competitive month for scary flicks.

It also didn't help that the movie had a powerhouse cast. Co-starring with John Lloyd in 'The Trial' are Richard Gomez, Gretchen Barretto, Jessy Mendiola and Enrique Gil. It would have been an added boost if the movie had Dawn Zulueta, the original choice for Gretchen's role. CharDawn fans for sure could have went in full force to watch the movie.

'The Trial' might just ultimately gross between P50-P60M, to become one of John Lloyd's lowest-grossing films. But maybe let's just understand that it's not the usual JLC movie. His movie performs so well if it's a rom-com, a romance drama or he's paired up with Bea Alonzo or Sarah Geronimo.

Expect this movie though, particularly John Lloyd, to reap honors from different award-giving bodies.

***

2014 started so good for the Philippine movie industry. For the first 7 months, there were 6 films that earned above a hundred million mark: 'Bride For Rent', 'Starting Over Again', 'Diary ng Panget The Movie', 'Da Possessed', 'Maybe This Time' and 'She Dating The Gangster'.

But in the next 3 months after July, Filipino films were mostly "misses" and none of them earned at least P80M and above.

Maybe, next month's 'Past Tense' starring Kim Chiu, Xian Lim and Ai-Ai de las Alas will make up for those disappointments, and be the next P100M-grossing movie. - Mykiru.ph

About mykiru

Mykiru is an entertainment blogger, having been named as one of the Top 10 Pinoy Showbiz Resources in the Philippines. For a decade now, Mykiru.ph has been delivering the latest, the hottest and most trending issues in the country.
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