"High School Musical 3" grosses P31.6-M, smashes records in RP

Walt Disney Pictures’ “High School Musical 3: Senior Year” graduated Valedictorian at the Philippine box-office, claiming the No. 1 spot with a nationwide three-day (Oct. 24-26) opening weekend gross of P31.6-million in only 129 screens. This was announced today by Victor R. Cabrera, managing director of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International which distributed the film.

Families, teens, college students and yuppies propelled “HSM 3” to record-breaking heights, posting the all-time biggest opening for a live-action musical in the country, outpacing previous holder (and another Disney title) “Enchanted” by a whopping 168% at P18.8-M. The feat becomes even more incredible with the fact that “HSM 3” smashed the record with only a three-day opening, compared to “Enchanted” with five.

“Senior Year’s” opening also now ranks as the fifth highest ever for a Disney-branded live-action feature, after “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End,” “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest,” “National Treasure: Book Secrets” and “Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl” in that order.

Fans and even critics gave thumbs up to “High School Musical 3’s” incredible new music and exciting dance numbers that were designed to take maximum advantage of the big screen (the first two “HSM” movies were originally made for the Disney Channel).

The Top 20 cinemas that registered the biggest box-office receipts are Trinoma (P2.03-M), Power Plant (P1.58-M), Alabang Town Center (P1.46-M), SM Mall of Asia (P1.39-M), SM North EDSA (P1.34-M), SM Megamall (P1.14-M), Glorietta 4 (P1.07-M), Shangri-La (P1.01-M), Greenhills (P996,328) and Greenbelt III (P967,222).

Rounding up the list are Gateway Cineplex (P775,220), Robinson’s Ermita (P739, 374), Ayala Center Cebu (P707,456), SM Cinema Cebu (P700,321), Robinson’s Galleria (P646,269), SM Southmall (P635,493), SM San Lazaro (P624,460), Festival (P601,229), Eastwood (P571,569) and SM Fairview (P549,672).

“Senior Year” brought to the big-screen the all-singing, all-dancing exploits of the clean-cut captain of the Wildcats, Troy Bolton (Zac Efron), beautiful brainiac Gabriella Montez (Vanessa Hudgens) and scheming rich girl Sharpay Evans (Ashley Tisdale). In the film, high school seniors Troy and Gabriella face the prospect of separation as they head off to different colleges. Joined by the rest of the Wildcats, they stage an elaborate spring musical reflecting their experiences, hopes and fears about the future. 

Still playing across the Philippines, “High School Musical 3: Senior Year” is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International.