The Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) released new guidelines on theatrical release of films in the Philippines.

After three years of meetings and talks with several producers, theatre owners, distributors and people from the industry, the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) has released Memorandum Circular No. 2019-01 with Policies and Guidelines on the Theatrical Release of Films in Philippine Cinemas.

Liza Diño-Seguerra, Chairperson of the FDCP comment on this new guideline “This [Memorandum Circular] is the culmination of FDCP’s efforts to strengthen our industry practices and level the playing field for all our stakeholders – from film producers, to distributors, to our exhibitors, and even the audience – through a transparent and fair set of guidelines that addresses the gaps that have long plagued our industry when it comes to screening films in commercial theatres”.

The main object of this new guidelines is to push for Philippine cinema’s growth and development. The new policies introduced are:
– Change the theatrical releases of local and foreign films nationwide from Wednesday to Friday to accommodate more potential moviegoers during the weekend.
– Minimum run-length of at least seven (7) days for every film booked for theatrical release.
– Theater assignment guarantee for the first three (3) days to avoid movies from getting pulled out of cinemas.
– Booked films will be assigned with “full screens” for the first three (3) days of their exhibition. This means there will be no screen splitting, or a double booking and exhibition for a single theatre screen.
– A fair ratio for booked Filipino and foreign films should also be observed in regular playdates to give local films a higher chance of being seen by the audience.
– Ticket prices for students of ages 18 years and below will now be priced at Two Hundred Pesos (P200.00) in Metro Manila and a maximum of One Hundred Fifty Pesos (P150.00) in provinces every Wednesdays.
– Films that have been theatrically released should only be screened to other platforms in the country after a holdback period of one hundred fifty (150) days after its first day of exhibition to maximize the movies’ revenue opportunity in local cinemas.

These policies and guidelines should take effect in fifteen days.