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 Logo used since 2018 | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Film |
| Founded | November 11, 1981; 43 years ago (1981-11-11) |
| Founder |
|
| Headquarters | 7/F East Tower, Tektite Towers,[1] Exchange Road,, Philippines |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people |
|
| Products | Motion pictures |
| Services | |
| Parent | Viva Communications |
| Divisions | Viva International Pictures |
| Website | www |
Viva Films, Inc. (also known asViva Films, stylized asVIVA Films) is a Philippinefilmproduction anddistribution company owned byViva Communications. It was founded in 1981 byVic del Rosario Jr. and his sister Tess Cruz.[1] Viva Films is one of the largest film studios in the Philippines, along withStar Cinema,Regal Entertainment andGMA Pictures.[2]
Veering away from theSharon Cuneta-Gabby Concepcion tandem, Viva became home to quality dramatic films. The "glossy" production of films such asSinasamba Kita,Palimos ng Pag-ibig,Saan Darating ang Umaga?,Kung Mahawi Man ang Ulap, andPaano Ba ang Mangarap? won critical and commercial acclaim. Viva Films also made a documentary film on the Puerto Rican boybandMenudo on their visit to the Philippines in 1985.
Viva launched then-supporting actorPhillip Salvador as an action star in the filmBoy Negro. It was also instrumental in introducing to the publicRobin Padilla (Bad Boy andAnak ni Baby Ama), andRaymart Santiago (Noel Juico: Batang Kriminal) as new action stars. Veteran action starsEddie Garcia,Rudy Fernandez,Bong Revilla Jr., andFernando Poe Jr., also made films for Viva.
Viva became later known as home to quality youth-oriented films, starting with the 1984 breakthrough flick,Bagets. The film was top billed byWilliam Martinez and launched the careers of then unknownsJ.C. Bonnin,Herbert Bautista,Raymond Lauchengco, andAga Muhlach. With its box-office success, the company produced a sequelBagets 2 with Ramon Christopher,Jon Hernandez, andFrancis Magalona joining the original cast, the success of the twoBagets film made it the flagship film of Viva Films and it set the trend for youth-oriented films in the 1980s which other film companies copied, but they never matched nor equaled the success brought about by the twoBagets films.
Viva also made "glossy" comedy films likeWorking Girls (2010) andSa Totoo Lang which featured serious actors and actresses as main characters instead of comedians. The company also gambled on new comedians as the '80s decade was about to end. Comedy flicks such asPuto,Jack en Jill,Humanap Ka ng Panget, andI Love You 3x a Day launched the respective careers ofHerbert Bautista,Andrew E. andJimmy Santos.
In 1989, Viva introduced its second batch of young stars via the youth-oriented comedyEstudyante Blues.[3] It introduced to the public young stars andThat's Entertainment mainstays such asVina Morales,Gelli de Belen,Keempee de Leon,Raymart Santiago andDingdong Avanzado. The film was also a resounding success, despite the fact thatEstudyante Blues became an earlier hit via the Philippine music airwaves as a single sung byFreddie Aguilar.
In the 1990s, Viva launched the careers of Dennis Padilla and Janno Gibbs as solo comedians while reviving the film careers of veteran comedians Redford White (Neber 2 Geder), Chiquito (Pinagbiyak Na Bunga) and Joey de Leon (Hibangers).
Viva later on entered into television production by partnering withGMA Pictures. Their first venture together was the sitcomOber Da Bakod in 1992 with then rising young talentsDonita Rose,Gelli de Belen, andJanno Gibbs andAnjo Yllana as main stars, followed by the soap operaVilla Quintana in 1994 withDonna Cruz andKeempee de Leon as lead stars. However, it was the 1995 youth-oriented seriesT.G.I.S. that gave Viva its biggest success as a television producer. Headlined byAngelu de Leon, it gave birth to the careers ofBobby Andrews, Michael Flores,Onemig Bondoc, Red Sternberg,Raven Villanueva andCiara Sotto. The success of the TV series was later translated to the big screen, when theT.G.I.S. group became box-office stars via the filmsTakot Ka Ba sa Dilim? andTGIS the Movie. A new batch of teens were introduced a few months later, and was led byDingdong Dantes,Anne Curtis,Sunshine Dizon (previously credited as "Sunshine"), Kim Delos Santos,Antoinette Taus,Polo Ravales, Dino Guevarra and Chubi del Rosario.
In 1996, Viva Films had the highest number of films produced out of all the major studios in the country, producing 35% of all local films in 1995–1996.[4]
Viva Films had the lowest number of films produced among all major film studios in the Philippines for the year 2004, producing only four:Annie B.,Masikip sa Dibdib: The Boobita Rose Story,Kulimlim andLastikman: Unang Banat, all of which were only moderate box-office successes. Due to stiff competition, they focused on digital films and distribution the following year.
In late 2006, Viva Films returned to mainstream movie production through co-producing with the film outfits owned by the giant networks:Star Cinema (owned byABS-CBN Corporation) andGMA Pictures (owned byGMA Network, Inc.) while producing films by themselves from time to time. Their first two comeback mainstream films wereTill I Met You (with GMA Pictures) andWag Kang Lilingon (with Star Cinema). From 2009 to 2010, Viva produced films which were considered firsts:Patient X marks the first Viva movie ofRichard Gutierrez andCristine Reyes after the latter signed a contract with Viva Entertainment, whileWorking Girls marks the first Viva film of the firstStarstruck female winnerJennylyn Mercado after she signed a contract with Viva Entertainment.
In 2011,Tumbok,Catch Me, I'm in Love,No Other Woman,The Unkabogable Praybeyt Benjamin,Won't Last a Day Without You (all co-produced by Star Cinema), were released. In 2012,Of All the Things (co-produced byGMA Films),Moron 5 & the Crying Lady (co-produced by MVP Films) andA Secret Affair were released.
In 2013,Bekikang: Ang Nanay Kong Beki,It Takes a Man and a Woman,Momzillas, andGirl, Boy, Bakla, Tomboy (all co-produced by Star Cinema) were released. In 2014,Diary ng Panget,Trophy Wife andMuslim Magnum .357: To Serve and Protect were released.
In 2015,Felix Manalo, a biopic of theIglesia ni Cristo founder, was released in October.
On March 13, 2019, Viva Communications joined the local-language film consortium Globalgate Entertainment, which is led by American mini-major film studioLionsgate.[5]
On January 29, 2021, Viva Films released an online video streaming site called VMX, formerly known as Vivamax, conceptualized and overseen by Viva Communications chairman and CEOVic del Rosario,[6] which aims to provide online viewing for their movies such asMaybe This Time,Kita Kita, andSanggano, Sanggago’t Sanggwapo.[7]Vivamax released a wide variety of titles, ranging fromcomedy,horror, anderotica in the form of films and series. Viva also released a separate streaming service calledViva One (formerlyViva Prime) featuring family films aimed at a broader audience. While Vivamax quickly gained a reputation as a purveyor ofsoftcorepornography,[8][9] Viva COO Vincent del Rosario dismissed such allegations and claimed that their adult content makes up only ten percent of their streaming library.[10][11] VMX's library of erotic content was also criticized by senatorJinggoy Estrada who called out the streaming service for allegedly allowing younger audiences easy access to "sexy contents" with no redeeming value, amid calls for theMovie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) to expand its scope for them to enforce ratings on online streaming services.[12]
Starting in 2022, Viva produced a number of films which were released every week online throughVivamax, which was later rebranded asVMX as it reached a significant milestone of 12 million subscribers in October 2024.[13][14]
| Rank | Title | Year | Box-office gross (in estimated amount) | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maid in Malacañang | 2022 | ₱650 million | co-produced with VinCentiments | [15] |
| 2 | Fantastica | 2018 | ₱596 million | co-produced withStar Cinema | [16] |
| 3 | Gandarrapiddo: The Revenger Squad | 2017 | ₱571 million | [17] | |
| 4 | Miracle in Cell No. 7 | 2019 | ₱543 million | [18] | |
| 5 | Beauty and the Bestie | 2015 | ₱526 million | co-produced withStar Cinema | [19] |
| 6 | The Amazing Praybeyt Benjamin | 2014 | ₱455 million | [20][21] | |
| 7 | Un/Happy for You | 2024 | ₱450 million | [22] | |
| 8 | Girl, Boy, Bakla, Tomboy | 2013 | ₱421 million | [23] | |
| 9 | Sisterakas | 2012 | ₱393 million | [24] | |
| 10 | It Takes a Man and a Woman | 2013 | ₱387 million | [25] |
HGFEarnings of the film listed in the box-office gross with an estimated amount is not the accurate total gross of the film. Some articles and reports even the production company itself are giving different amounts of gross and not revealing its actual amount. In this case, the estimated gross amount shown above is from the sources that has a similar report of the gross.
During the early 1980s, Viva tied up withIBC to air their early releases every Saturday night. The movie block, titledViva Box Office Hits, showed early movies ofSharon Cuneta andGabby Concepcion and other early releases by the company, In March 1988,Viva Box Office Hits was one of the Viva shows that transferred to ABS-CBN (along withThe Sharon Cuneta Show) after its original home IBC was sequestered by the Aquino administration. Despite Viva Box Office's cancellation on February 16, 1989, succeeding films produced by Viva Films and its subsidiaries continued to air on ABS-CBN through the network's movie blocksTagalog Movie Greats andStar Cinema Presents until 1992.
In 1992, Viva switched networks by partnering withGMA Network where their latest film releases starting in 1991 onwards were shown every Thursday night. The movie block was renamedViva Sinerama which ended on January 6, 2002. The said partnership initially caused controversy after former media partner ABS-CBN filed an injunction to block the partnership as the network launched their own motion picture companyStar Cinema a year later. The said injunction affected the airing of the 1991 box-office hitMaging Sino Ka Man which was supposed to be Viva's maiden offering onViva Sinerama. After the court decided in favor of the Viva-GMA partnership, the said movie finally aired after six months. It was also during the GMA era that Viva aired another movie block on Monday nights calledMVP (Monday Viva Presentations) on August 15, 1994, primarily to compete with ABS-CBN's then top-rating movie block Regal Presents, which later moved to Tuesdays asTuesday Viva Presentation from 1997 to 1998.
During the new millennium, Viva diversified its film library where it was aired randomly onIBC (via Viva TV primetime block) andABC (now TV5) (via the Viva Box Office and Viva Cine Idols movie block).
From free TV, Viva was able to tie up withStar TV andFox International Channels Philippines to create an all-Filipino international movie channel on May 6, 1996, calledViva Cinema. Viva Cinema aired over 300 movies coming from the Viva library, including the latest releases. It also aired behind-the-scenes outtakes and refreshing entertainment shows. The partnership between Viva and Star TV ended on July 31, 2003, after Viva acquired the remaining stake of the channel from Star TV and when Viva created its movie channel, PBO (Pinoy Box Office) and entrusted the entire Viva movie library toABS-CBN by allowing it to air over. Viva Prime Channel airs mostly action and Drama movies at 7:00 p.m. only every other week of the month. Viva Cinema returned on February 1, 2009 along with the launch of Philippine DTH'sCignal Digital TV of the same month. Aside from Viva entrusting the entire Viva library to ABS-CBN, co-productions of Viva and Star Cinema are also aired exclusively via ABS-CBN's movie blockKapamilya Blockbusters andS+A's movie blocksAction Movie Zone andLunch Blockbusters, and via Viva Cinema, Viva Prime Channel, and PBO. While co-productions of Viva and GMA Films are exclusively aired viaGMA's movie blocksKapuso Movie Festival and/or Kapuso Movie Night,GMA News TV's movie blockTakilya Blockbusters, and via Viva Cinema, Viva Prime Channel, and PBO.
For overseas markets,Cinema One Global (owned by ABS-CBN) also aired Viva Films productions for its overseas Filipino audiences.
In 2015, Viva partnered with TV5 to provide entertainment content. This transpired after the TV network dissolved its entertainment department to make room for blocktimers and content providers. It is said that Viva will be the biggest content contributor to the network. However, its partnership with TV5 took a break in late 2016 as formerGilas Pilipinas and PBA head coach,Vicente "Chot" Reyes took over as president and CEO of TV5 which Reyes focused in sports and news programming on TV5 until he resigned in June 2019 due to negative feedbacks by the viewers and fans of the network's entertainment programming against Reyes.[26][27]
On May 10, 2021, after Cignal TV took over the TV5 Network's management and operations (and Viva resurrected its partnership with TV5 for the overall programming), TV5/Cignal and Viva through theSari-Sari Channel announced that TV5 will air a Viva weekly movie block under theSari-Sari Presents Viva Cinema banner, similar to the now-defunctViva Sinerama on GMA which began on May 15, 2021, every Saturday afternoon.[28] On October 31, 2021, theSine Spotlight block on Sunday evenings aired films produced by Viva from the early to mid-2010s and since May 2022 until early 2023 older action films produced by Viva; competitor studioStar Cinema (underABS-CBN Corporation) assumed the co-production and partnership duties for the block from February to May 2022. On August 1, 2021, Viva reverted its secondary cable-only network Viva TV back to Viva Cinema with older films produced and distributed by Viva until 1999 (since August 2024) in the new iteration along with concerts produced by sister company Viva Live; the former had been merged with the company's TV production unit.PBO is set to target broadcasting films from 2002 onwards in the coming years.
From September 17, 2022 to April 12, 2024, some of most Viva's classic Filipino movies began to air onAll TV Channel 2, a free-to-air and cable television network owned byAdvanced Media Broadcasting System via theAll Flix movie block which airs daily.[29]
| Company type | Division |
|---|---|
| Industry | Film |
| Founded | November 18, 1998; 26 years ago (1998-11-18) |
| Founder | Vic del Rosario Jr. |
| Headquarters | 7/F East Tower, Tektite Towers,[1] Exchange Road,, Philippines |
Area served | Philippines |
Key people | Vic del Rosario Jr.(Chairman andCEO) |
| Products | Motion pictures |
| Services | Film distribution |
| Owner | Viva Communications |
| Parent | Viva Films |
Viva International Pictures (VIP) is a division of Viva Films that distributes Hollywood, European and Asian movies. It is headed by the chairman and CEO,Vic del Rosario Jr. VIP is the official partner of MVP Entertainment, a subsidiary ofMultivision Plus.
In January 2008, Viva chairmanVic del Rosario announced that Viva Communications expected to raise P1.1 billion through approval of theinitial public offering (IPO) by thePhilippine Stock Exchange, on listing date of March 5. It planned to sell up P 92.8 million new shares and P 49.9 million secondary shares at P 12.93 / share (offer is 35% of the company's issued and outstandingcapital stock). It appointedBanco de Oro (BDO) Capital and Investment Corporation as leadunderwriter and Abacus Capital and Investments Corporation as co-lead underwriter. Viva's net income was P 121 million for January to October 2007, double its 2006 earnings and projects net profit of P 330 million this year.[30]
Ronan: Boss Vic is the one with the vision and timing of Vivamax. When we spoke back in April 2020, the plan was already clear to him regarding every aspect of Vivamax.
Ang My Bebe Love #KiligPaMore ang nakakuha ng pangatlong top gross, with P385 million...[My Bebe Love #KiligPaMore gained the third top gross, with P385 million]