“Call Me Mother” Reigns Supreme on MMFF 2025 Opening Day

Vice Ganda and Nadine Lustre’s much-anticipated comedy-drama Call Me Mother has stormed to the top of the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) 2025 box office on its opening day, emerging as the clear audience favorite according to preliminary and unofficial tallies from fan-run trackers and cinema industry sources.

Unofficial reports from both the Philippine Box Office Facebook page and the MMFF Box Office Twitter account confirm that Call Me Mother grossed significantly more than its festival rivals, outpacing even seasoned franchises. As of 11 a.m. on December 26, the film held the No. 1 spot nationwide—solidifying its status as the breakout hit of this year’s holiday lineup.

Horror anthology Shake, Rattle & Roll: Evil Origins, starring Carla Abellana and Richard Gutierrez, claimed second place, though it reportedly earned only about a third of Call Me Mother’s opening-day haul. The rankings saw slight shifts throughout the day: romantic drama UnMarry, headlined by Angelica Panganiban and Zanjoe Marudo, initially placed third, but was later overtaken by the youth-oriented rom-com Love You So Bad, starring Will Ashley, Bianca de Vera, and Dustin Yu.

By midday, the unofficial top five stood as follows:

1. Call Me Mother
2. Shake, Rattle & Roll: Evil Origins
3. Love You So Bad
4. Bar Boys: After School
5. UnMarry

Trackers noted that films ranked third through fifth posted very close earnings, particularly in major Metro Manila cinemas and key provincial locations.

Public interest mirrored box office performance. Google Trends data from December 26 showed Shake, Rattle & Roll: Evil Origins as the most-searched MMFF entry nationwide, closely followed by Call Me Mother, UnMarry, Bar Boys: After School, and Love You So Bad—indicating broad audience engagement across multiple titles.

However, social media has also been flooded with complaints about what netizens describe as “excessive” ticket pricing for this year’s MMFF entries, potentially affecting wider turnout despite strong initial numbers.

The MMFF 2025 runs until January 7, 2026, giving audiences across the country more time to catch the festival’s eight official entries—though Call Me Mother appears poised to dominate the season both commercially and culturally.