Was Kris really the fourth ‘Amazing Spider-Man 2′ villain?
Seems the Philippine audience is really dead set on putting Kris Aquino’s foot in her mouth.
Over a month after she bragged that hers and son Bimby’s 2013 Metro Manila Filmfest (MMFF) entry My Little Bossings surpassed the take of the first chapter of the rebooted 2012 Spider-Man film franchise in an interview with the film’s lead star Andrew Garfield, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 set a new record in the local box-office as the film with the biggest two-day gross in history, according to studio estimates. At P112.6 million, it eclipsed the record of another Marvel superhero film, Iron Man 3. (P110.9 million).
On its way to exceeding ‘Bossings’ take
With the crowds still packing Philippine IMAX and 3-D theaters and cineplexes, it may seem the latest Spider-Man film is on its way to easily exceeding the P393-million take of My Little Bossings and may become the country’s highest grossing film ever.
Iron Man 3 is touted to own that record at over P625 million in gross receipts.
How it achieved this feat is surely a testament of how efficiently Columbia Pictures promoted and pushed the film in marketing campaigns both in traditional and new media—even in social networks. Spidey’s universal, timeless appeal and the grand, ambitious and provocative retelling of Stan Lee and Steve Ditko’s 1962 comic book also did the trick.
Another headache
But who can discount the film’s perceived fourth villain, alongside Electro, Green Goblin, and Rhino, giving the swinging webslinger yet another headache? Kris’s remarks, labelled as egotistical, narcissistic blabber, drew a whirlwind of criticism, mostly from netizens.
Netizens asked why on Earth Columbia Pictures Philippines decided on sending our beloved TV host-actress to that media promotional event in Singapore to interview the film’s lead stars, given her tendency to draw all the attention to herself. People say sending someone like Kris, who will not budge in the battle of star power, even in the face of Garfield, the “not-so-nice” Emma Stone, and the Academy Award winner Ed...err...Jamie Foxx, was a mindless move.
Clever, calculated move
But judging from the film’s box office success in the Philippines, it is apparent that Columbia, as usual, pressed all the right buttons in promoting the superhero franchise. And this includes sending Kris to interview the stars for Kris TV, her ABS-CBN morning show. This televised spectacle might have even been an unwitting factor in the film’s overwhelming success, rousing millions of Spider-Man movie followers to their feet to march to theaters and put the “Queen of All Media” to shame.
Mindless? No. I think it was a clever, calculated move.
In the end, was it really Kris who got all the attention?
I guess not.
