Star Movies’ Movie Marathon hails first sole winner in 4 years

MANILA, Philippines – After four years, Star Movies’ annual Movie Marathon finally had a sole winner.

On Tuesday night, Oct. 8, Anna Marie Bacul, 32, from Butuan City, was hailed the first sole winner for this annual event and took home Php 150,000 in cash.

From the previous years, there are usually 15 winners who last until 12 midnight, that's why they suggest them to just divide the pot money among themselves.

But for this year, Anna endured the cold temperature inside the Newport Cinema, while sitting upright with no standing, no sleeping, no bathroom breaks, no texting while also avoiding involuntary actions such as yawning, coughing and stretching.

With the cinema’s air conditioning unit in full blast, the participants tolerated the cold from 7 a.m. while being served with snacks and drinks that they need to consume as part of the challenge.

Until around 7 p.m., fifteen participants remained, were given jackets before the last movie started and instructed to watch the film while squatting as compliance to the boot camp theme.

Jude Turcuato, Head of FOX International Channels here in the Philippines said there were 50,000 applicants for the said event.

They sent in their entries through email after they’ve seen the “bug” while watching a film in Star Movies channel. The participants who got the correct answer were raffled electronically until they arrived to the 200 contestants for this year.

The event, which started on Nov. 9, 2010, served as “a promotion for the channel,” Turcuato said.

“We want to make a little bit of noise, and make a difference from other channels,” he added