Liza Soberano and Enrique Gil’s My Ex and Whys gave the audience a glimpse of what Star Cinema has in store for moviegoers who fanatically enjoy the film outfit’s brand of big-screen entertainment — the usual boy-meets-girl formula, which they seem to have perfected.
While critics gave the romantic comedy unfavorable reviews, the same thing cannot be said of the way it was received by the movie going public. The film now holds the record for 2017’s highest opening day gross for a Filipino film. Its opening day box-office record was also the third highest opening day gross for a non-MMFF Filipino film of all time earning more than P340 million according to Star Cinema.
Now, expectations are high as Kapamilya’s film outfit fields the tandem of Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla in yet another romantic movie set for commercial release next month.
Following Star Cinema’s tradition of using a song title or a famous line from a song, the upcoming KathNiel film outing is inspired a pop ballad originally recorded by Elvis Presley, Can’t Help Falling in Love. And Daniel has already recorded his own version of the 1961 hit.
The teaser for the romantic comedy was released on Facebook on March 15 and garnered more than two million views in less than 24 hours. On the same day, the trailer was uploaded on YouTube and has been viewed almost a million times since.
Interestingly, the movie doesn’t follow the plot of Fools Rush In, 1997 American romantic comedy film starring Matthew Perry and Salma Hayek, which of course was inspired by the same song popularized by the King of Rock and Roll.
The teaser sees Daniel and Kathryn portray strangers who suddenly find themselves married. In the one-and-a-half-minute trailer, the two characters are seen meeting for the first time. Kathryn shakes Daniel’s hand and shows him a marriage certificate then blurts out, “Let’s get a divorce.” The young man teasingly suggests that they try out the married life.
In a recent interview, Kathryn said that the new movie will a bit different from their previous big screen project. As a summer movie, it’s light and with less drama, which means no hugot lines to feast on.
“Rom-com talaga iyong movie na ito. The whole time ay hindi siya mabigat panoorin …Masaya siya na may matutunan tayo after,” Kathryn said.
Directed by Mae Cruz Alviar (Crazy Beautiful You, She’s the One), Can’t Help Falling In Love is Daniel and Kathryn’s first movie following the widely successful Barcelona: A Love Untold, which earned P321 million.
Indeed, it will be such a busy year for KathNiel and for the fans that religiously follow them on social media. The pair will also be returning to the Kapamilya primetime with La Luna Sanggre, the third installment of ABS-CBN’s hit fantasy series Lobo (2008) and Imortal (2011).