MANILA, Philippines?This year?s Metro Manila Film Festival continues to soar in terms of box office earnings, reaching an aggregate P248.5 million for all entries during the first five days of the film fest.

Figures from MMFF chair Ric Camaligan show that this year?s first five-day take is 37.3% higher than the same period in 2007, reflecting heightened moviegoer interest in this year?s entries.

Comedy still rules the 34th MMFF with Star Cinema?s ?Ang Tanging Ina N?yong Lahat? as the top grosser so far with P87.9 million in earnings from Dec. 25-30, followed by OctoArts/M-Zet/APT?s ?Iskul Bukol: 20 Years After? with P65.1 million. Regal Films? horror trilogy ?Shake, Rattle & Roll X? came in third with P40.5 million.

Another Regal production, ?Desperadas 2,? remained at fourth place with P23.6 million, while the most awarded film this year, Viva Films? ?Baler,? stayed at fifth with P21.3 million. A distant sixth was OctoArts Films? ?One Night Only? with P4.9 million.

The first-ever animated entry to the festival, ?Dayo sa Mundo ng Elementalia,? took P3.7 million to land in seventh. Maverick Films? ?Magkaibigan? was last with P1.5 million.

Favorably graded

Although commercial flicks still rule at the box office, industry leaders noted that all of the entries to this year?s film fest were graded favorably by the Cinema Evaluation Board (CEB).

?This is an unprecedented achievement and underscores the substantial growth of the local film industry,? said Rolando S. Atienza, chair of the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) which runs the CEB.

The three films that earned A grades were ?Dayo,? ?Baler? and ?Magkaibigan.?

Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) chair Bayani Fernando said, ?These movies are not only ?commercial?; they are also entertaining and of good quality.?

The MMDA spearheads the annual film fest.