With 2015’s final days upon us, the time has come, once again, to take a look back upon the year’s biggest events in Philippine showbiz – a year full of surprises – a year where a lip-syncing app boosted a young girl from Bulacan into stardom, a year where enough voices were heard on social media to launch a historical biopic from a box office blunder into one of the highest-grossing Filipino films of all time.
Without further ado, here are the highs and lows of Philippine showbiz for 2015:
★★★★★
The AlDub Phenomenon
You’ve seen the billboards, you’ve read the countless Facebook posts, and you’ve heard people from across the nation (and abroad) shriek with delight and groan with sadness at the year’s biggest showbiz spectacle – the unlikely love story of a Yaya Dub (Maine Mendoza), a lady who communicates via Dubsmash, and one of the country’s biggest heartthrobs – Alden Richards.
Filled with kilig moments, laugh-out-loud jokes, exciting twists and turns enchanting the Filipino nation, and with the Eat Bulaga kalyeserye recently undergoing new and interesting developments, we’re just as excited as the legions of AlDub fans to see what comes next for 2015’s largest showbiz phenomenon, into 2016, and perhaps, beyond.
★★★★★
Popoy and Basha Reunite for a Second Chance
The long-awaited sequel to one of Philippine cinema’s most unforgettable romantic movies, A Second Chance once again focuses on Popoy and Basha, now struggling with the hardships and intricacies involving married life.
The film is packed with memorable hugot lines that you’re sure to see on Facebook, and genuinely tear-jerking scenes that’ll have you reaching for the nearest box of Kleenex. A Second Chance is one of the year’s biggest releases, earning rave reviews from critics and unseating 2014’s The Amazing Praybeyt Benjamin as the highest-grossing Filipino film of all time, to the tune of P556 million (and counting) worldwide.
★★★★★
Heneral Luna
Beset on all sides, threatened by foreign films, Heneral Luna, like its titular character, charged forth from what seemed like oblivion, turning back the tide, smashing box office records, rushing forward and turning into one of the highest-grossing Filipino films of all time, earning more than P250 million. It also broke most of the rules in conventional cinema, relying more on word-of-mouth and the Filipino netizens on social media instead of a massive advertising campaign.
Combining a compelling story, remarkable cinematography, an amazing musical score, fantastic visual effects, great acting, humor and a deeper, underlying moral to boot, Heneral Luna stands alone atop the Filipino movie landscape for this year, victorious amongst a sea of rom-coms and rehashed horror films, unique in its achievement as an indie film.
★★★★★
Felix Manalo’s Record-Breaking Launch
The biographical film dramatizing the life and struggles with religion of the titular first Executive Minister of the Iglesia ni Cristo broke two Guinness world records upon launch – one for the largest audience in a film premiere, and another for the largest audience in a film screening – with 43,624 people attending the film’s launch.
★★★★★
Forevermore’s Finale
One of the year’s highest-rated teleseryes, Forevermore stars Liza Soberano in her very first leading role as the hardworking strawberry farmer, Maria Agnes Calay, paired with the feisty child of a hotel magnate, Alexander Grande III, played by Enrique Gil.
What follows is a tale of an unlikely romance, with plenty of comedy, tender moments, and hardships for the young couple to overcome. And, as with all great love stories, the ending was one of the most-awaited of the year, with the finale becoming one of the highest-rated endings for 2015, earning a 27.6 percent ratings from the data gathered by AGB Nielsen Philippines.
★★★★★
Pangako Sa’Yo
The KathNiel loveteam star in this teleserye remake’s tried-and-tested formula – Kathryn Bernardo is Yna Macaspac, a simple but beautiful young lady, while Daniel Padilla is Angelo Buenavista, the rebellious son of a powerful politician.
What makes Pangako Sa ’Yo different, however, is that it draws parallels between the KathNiel loveteam’s characters and another couple 20 years back from the series’ timeline, in an interesting twist that sets into motion a chain of events that changes the characters’ lives. The series has since become a force to be reckoned with, peaking at a 39.7 percent rating from the Kantar Media National TV Ratings, and earning up to two million tweets bearing “#PSYUnangHalik.”
★★★★★
On Marriages
The year also saw actress Toni Gonzaga and Senator Chiz Escudero tying the knot with their significant others, – director Paul Soriano and actress Heart Evangelista – respectively.
★★★★★
Baby Z
One of the nation’s biggest showbiz couples, Dingdong Dantes and Marian Rivera turned into one of the biggest showbiz parents on Nov. 23, when Marian gave birth to Maria Letizia Gracia-Dantes, nicknamed “Baby Z.” Dingdong and Marian were married on Dec. 30 2014, in a grand ceremony dubbed “The Royal Wedding.”
★★★★★
In Memoriam
With the year welcoming the likes of Yaya Dub and Heneral Luna into the ever-growing family of Philippine showbiz, the time has also come to say goodbye to some of the beloved members of the business – this year saw the likes of actress Liezl Martinez, comedienne Elizabeth Ramsey, and child actress Julia Buencamino take their final bows.
In Conclusion, with 2015 slowly fading away, and with the curtain slowly drawing to a close, the time has come to take a bow and say goodbye to a wonderful year of entertainment – and look forward to what the ebb and flow of fate brings to Philippine showbiz for 2016.