One of the early showbiz issues this year was the question of who is going to be crowned box-office queen. Sarah Geronimo’s A Very Special Love hit it big at the box-office around middle of last year. But so did Ai Ai de las Alas’ Ang Tanging Ina N’yong Lahat during the 2008 Metro Manila Film Festival.
The problem with Ai Ai’s film was that it spilled over to 2009, which, of course, wasn’t her fault. Her movie, after all, only opened on Dec. 25 and by January of 2009 was still raking it in. For several weeks sometime in February therefore, the issue of who will be hailed Box-Office Queen waited to be resolved.
The organizers of the Guillermo Mendoza Memorial Scholarship Foundation, Inc. (the group behind the Box-Office King and Queen) settled this problem by giving the Box-Office Queen crown to Sarah, but at the same time bestowing to Ai Ai the title Box-Office Comedy Queen. Mrs. Corazon Samaniego, who heads the organization, believes this is the perfect resolution. And it is also timely to have two queens this time because it is the 40th year of the Box-Office King and Queen (it is actually just the 39th, but that’s an unlucky number and they want to skip that). Now that should make everyone happy.
Below is the complete list of winners:
Box-Office King — John Lloyd Cruz
Box-Office Queen — Sarah Geronimo
Film Actor of the Year — Christopher de Leon
Film Actress of the Year — Sharon Cuneta
Prince of Philippine Movies — Richard Gutierrez
Princess of Philippine Movies — KC Concepcion
Male Concert Performer of the Year — Gary Valenciano
Female Concert Performer of the Year — Sarah Geronimo
Male Recording Artist of the Year — Martin Nievera
Female Recording Artist of the Year — Sarah Geronimo
Most Popular Recording/Performing Group — Sponge Cola
Most Popular Novelty Singer — Moymoy Palaboy
Most Popular TV-Movie Love Team — Gerald Anderson and Kim Chiu
Most Promising Male Star — Aljur Abrenica
Most Promising Female Star — KC Concepcion
Most Promising Male Singer — Bugoy Drilon
Most Promising Female Singer — KC Concepcion
Most Promising Recording/Performing Group — You Got Male
Most Popular Dance Group — EB Babes
Most Popular Child Actor — Robert “Buboy” Villar
Most Popular Child Actress — Sharlene San Pedro
Most Popular Film Producer — Star Cinema
Most Popular Screenwriter — Raz Sabido de la Torre and Wenn Derramas
Most Popular Film Director — Cathy Garcia-Molina
Most Popular TV Program — Dyesebel
Most Popular TV Director — Joyce Bernal
Bert Marcelo Award — Eugene Domingo
Box-Office Comedy Kings — Dolphy and Vic Sotto
Box-Office Comedy Queen — Ai Ai de las Alas
Valentine Box-Office King and Queen — Richard Gutierrez and Marian Rivera
Outstanding Global Achievement by a Filipino Artist — Arnel Pineda and Charice Pempengco
Special Merit Award for Music (posthumous) — Francis Magalona
John Lloyd Cruz, of course, became Box-Office King on the strength of A Very Special Love, while Dolphy and Vic Sotto became the Box-Office Comedy Kings based on the performance at the tills of Dobol Trobol. The triumvirate of Tito, Vic & Joey was a close second because Iskul Bukol, the Reunion Movie also fared very well when it was exhibited in the Metro Manila Film Festival.
Sharon Cuneta was voted Film Actress of the Year for Caregiver. Her closest rival to the title was Judy Ann Santos (for Ploning). Christopher de Leon, on the other hand, was named Film Actor of the Year for Magkaibigan.
The coronation night of the Box-Office King and Queen has no definite date yet because Sarah, who is the recipient not only of the highest honor, but of several other awards as well, will be away for a long time. The show, however, will still be produced by Tessie Celestino-Howard of Airtime Marketing, Inc. and will be aired on ABS-CBN in its late Sunday night slot.