Following box office success of Hello, Love, One More Time, ABS-CBN eyes global promotion

After South Korea, Philippine media giant ABS-CBN is positioning itself as the next potential supplier of popular entertainment shows in Asia, riding on the international box office success of Hello, Love, Again.

“What we want to export or highlight to the rest of the world is the greatness of Filipinos as a people,” said Kriz Gazmen, head of ABS-CBN Films. “We are very passionate about our ’s love story. We’re very proud of our love story and I think it’s a really good way for us to enter the global market.”

The strategy appears to be working. “Hello, Love You Again” recently broke records by becoming the first Filipino film to gross over 1 billion pesos ($17 million) at the global box office. The film is the most widely released Filipino-made film internationally to date, playing on more than 1,330 screens in 40 countries. As its run continues, its box office total has now reached $24 million.

“We have to stay true to our unique culture,” said ABS-CBN President and CEO Carlo Katigbak. “Two things that have traditionally done well for us are romantic comedies and family stories. The core of Filipino culture is A very, very deep connection with the family.”

Katigbak noted that the themes of Hello Love Again resonated with audiences around the world. “When you think about it, there's a unique storyline. Filipinos have to take care of their families here, and they have to fly out and take care of other people's families,” he noted, citing the 10 percent of the Filipino population working overseas fact.

In 2025, the company's slate includes the family comedy “The Bread Winner Is…,” which premiered at the Metro Manila Film Festival over Christmas, and the Valentine's Day romance “I” starring Kim Chiu and Paolo Avelino. Love will make you disappear”. Other projects in development include family dramas, horror films and youth films.

Following the success of Hello, Love Again, ABS-CBN is expanding its global distribution network, especially in Europe, where the film is currently undergoing its first commercial screening. The company has established strong markets in North America, the Middle East, Australia and Southeast Asia.

Looking ahead, Katigbak believes theatrical releases offer the greatest growth potential. “Unlike a standard licensing agreement where the price is capped, if we have a movie that does well at the box office, you're going to make quite a bit of money,” he noted. “While we continue to do syndication deals on the television side, our focus as a company is really to see how our films perform globally.”

While the company remains heavily focused on romance and family themes, Katigbak emphasized their openness to diverse storytelling: “Our starting point is always a great story, rather than focusing on a specific genre. Whenever someone comes to us with a When there’s a story that’s authentic, original, and compelling, we’re willing to put it into production.”

The company’s development process prioritizes personal storytelling. “The story we ultimately decided to make was very personal to the writer,” Katibak said. “In our experience, these stories really resonate strongly with audiences.”

“Whenever we pitch, the first question we always ask filmmakers is, 'Why are you writing this story? Why is this story personal to you?'” Gazmen added. “You've got filmmakers who are passionate about what they're talking about because it's personal and often the stories really resonate with us as well.”

This openness to external collaboration signals a shift in company culture. “Traditionally, older versions of ABS tried to do everything in-house,” explains Katigbak. “But today, our culture is more inclusive, more open, more collaborative. Film departments and TV departments are now really making a deliberate effort to find stories from anywhere.”

The change in strategy comes after a period of significant adaptation for the company. In 2020, the then-Philippine government ordered ABS-CBN to stop airing on television and radio, a move widely seen as politically motivated. Months later, the Philippine Congress voted against ABS-CBN's bid to win a new franchise. In recent weeks, several congressional representatives have filed bills to grant ABS-CBN a broadcast franchise.

TV production plans for 2025 include the political action thriller “Bagman” and the action series “Incognito,” as well as the Philippine adaptation of the Korean romantic comedy series “It's Okay.” In terms of music, the girl band Bini, which has won two number one songs in the Philippines, is about to embark on an international tour in Asia, the Middle East and the United States.

“One of the big lessons we learned during the pandemic and the government not renewing our license is that we had to relearn a lot of things,” Gatzman noted. He emphasized the importance of reaching out to new communities and markets through strategic partners. relation.

“It gives us the opportunity to learn, and that involves working with people who know how to do what they do,” Gazman added. “It takes a village to have conversations with different echo chambers, different communities, different markets, and we’re learning along the way. Hello Love, One More Time gives us a great opportunity to meet people we haven’t been exposed to before stuff and hopefully in the coming drama seasons we can enter new markets and see where Filipino content can go further.”