It's time to bring Filipinos back to the cinemas, and that's exactly what Hello, Love, Again is set to do next week, alongside other Hollywood releases this November. It's already destined to be a big hit, but just how big are we talking on opening day? As it hits our the pre-release tracking timeline, the results are in — and they are outstanding.
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| Hello, Love, Again |
Counting its pre-sales seven days before release, the Cathy Garcia-Sampana-directed sequel has already sold 70% more tickets than Inside Out 2, 7% more than Deadpool & Wolverine, and 1,663% more than Un/Happy For You at the same period across eight malls* we've been monitoring all year. Readers should note that this snapshot was taken solely to gauge the film's box office potential, not to provide an official figure. Industry insiders have more accurate data to forecast its box office opening.
*Eight malls: 3 major malls in Metro Manila, 2 other malls in Metro Manila, 1 mall in Luzon, 1 mall in Visayas, 1 mall in Mindanao
Also, since the numbers look crazy let's take a step back and delve down on the specifics: A quarter of its pre-sales are coming from the midnight screenings which Inside Out 2 and Un/Happy For You did not have. However, it can be argued that buyers of these tickets will always be seeing the film on opening day. As evidenced by the anticipation from fans online (block screenings, etc.), it's also very clear that they are fueling these strong pre-sales numbers - similar to the fan-driven success seen with properties like Marvel or megastars like Taylor Swift.
Another interesting point is that sales are coming from all over. Fans from the Visayas and Mindanao are also contributing to the numbers. One midnight screening at SM Cebu is close to selling out, while a midnight screening at SM Davao has already sold a substantial number of tickets.
While Hello, Love, Again won't get boosted by IMAX-inflated ticket prices, it will benefit from getting other premium screens such as Director's Club which are selling tickets for as high as around ₱600 (!). Tickets for its regular 2D screenings are also now selling for as high as ₱410.
Inside Out 2's massive opening day (₱88 million) was further boosted by opening on a Holiday. Deadpool & Wolverine's opening day (₱24.5 million) was hit by mall closures. Un/Happy For You walkups (ticket buyers on the same day) were phenomenal which led to a strong ₱20 million opening. Now, it's almost safe to say Hello, Love, Again can surpass Deadpool and Un/Happy. After all, its predecessor Hello, Love, Goodbye opened to a massive ₱34 million back in July 2019. If that same audience sees the sequel in today's ticket prices, that's already around ₱50 million so that seems like a logical floor for it now.
In the long run, with minimal competition before its release (only Red One), exhibitors can easily increase showtimes to meet the expected demand during opening week. However, with bigger competitors such as Wicked and Moana 2 following closely after its release, it would be wise for Hello, Love, Again to open big in its first week — and that’s likely to happen. On a more optimistic note, these three films may not cannibalize each other.
Lastly, its predecessor was beloved by both critics and audiences, and this sequel will undoubtedly benefit from that goodwill during its opening week. However, for it to perform well in the long run, it needs to stand on its own merits.
It's going to be a good month at the box office.
