10 Filipino Movies And Shows That Deserve A Spot On Your 2024 Watchlist. How many of these have you seen?

If recent events are anything to go by, it’s going to be another exciting year for Philippine entertainment this 2024. 

Philippine entertainment has been having a hot streak these past few of years, and 2023 was no expectation. From historic TV shows like Voltes V: Legacy to critical sensations such as Iti Mapukpukaw and Rewind becoming the highest-grossing Filipino movie in history, the audience is still there to consume local TV and movies as long as they are given quality content. And with what we know so far of the new local titles coming this 2024, local entertainment promises to have more hits this year. So, check out these upcoming projects that have the makings to be our next favorite watch.

I AM NOT BIG BIRD

Enrique Gil’s acting comeback is upon us, and it’s his boldest yet. I Am Not Big Bird finds Enrique playing Luis Carpio, a man who decides to travel to Thailand with his friends after he is rejected by his girlfriend. There, they have a wild time that gets even wilder when Luis is mistaken for a missing famous Thai porn star named Big Bird. You can probably imagine what happens next. The movie is set to drop on February 14. Valentine’s Date, anyone?

WHAT’S WRONG WITH SECRETARY KIM REMAKE

After the success of Linlang, which had its TV debut this January, Paulo Avelino and Kim Chiu are teaming up for another series, and it’s a big one. One of the most talked about K-dramas in recent years is getting a Philippine remake, with Paulo and Kim starring in the local adaptation of What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim. If you’ve seen the original K-drama, then you know how much potential a Kim and Paulo team-up is going to eat. We can already imagine the kilig radiating from the show. The series is set to drop on March 18 on Viu Philippines.

PULANG ARAW

Following Maria Clara at Ibarra, GMA is back this 2024 to give us another big-budget historical teleserye. And this time, they will be heading to World War 2. Set during the Japanese occupation era in the Philippines, Pulang Araw features a star-studded cast that includes Barbie Forteza, Sanya Lopez, David Licauco, and Alden Richards.

Barbie and Sanya will play half-sisters Adelina and Teresita. Alden, meanwhile, will play Barbie’s half-brother Eduardo. As for David, he will play Hiroshi, a Japanese soldier. While plot details are still light, the potential for stories to be mined from this era is limitless. The show is set to air on GMA later this year.

HOW TO BE A GOOD WIFE

It was only a matter of time before we got a movie starring Janella Salvador and Jane de Leon. And that moment finally came with the 2023 announcement that the two would be starring in their first movie together, with Jun Robles Lana directing and Regal Films and The IdeaFirst Company producing. If their chemistry on Darna and other acting projects is anything to go by, this film is primed to get people talking. No release date for the movie has yet to be given, but fingers crossed for a 2024 release.

ENCANTADIA CHRONICLES: SANG’GRE

 

For fans of Encantadia, 2024 is set to be an exciting year as we return to the fantasy world in Sang’gre. Serving as a spin-off to the 2016 Encantadia series, Sang’gre will center on Bianca Umali’s Terra. Aside from seeing some of the OG cast members back in the Encantadia universe, Sang’gre is also set to inject new blood by featuring Faith da Silva’s Flamarra, Kelvin Miranda’s Adamus, and Angel Guardian’s Deia as part of the lead cast. 2016’s Encantadia director Mark A. Reyes is set to direct the spin-off. The show will air on GMA sometime later this year.

ELENA 1944

If 2023 had Kathryn Bernardo gagging audiences in A Very Good Girl, 2024 will see the superstar get even more people talking with her next film project, Elena 1944. Kathryn is set to take on her boldest role to date, a Filipino comfort woman during the Japanese occupation in the Philippines.

Revealed alongside A Very Good Girl, the movie will be adapted from the Palanca Award-winning screenplay by Patrick Valencia, produced by Black Sheep Productions, and directed by Olivia Lamasan. Given how sensitive the topic of comfort women is to this day, Elena 1944 has a lot of expectations to meet, and we hope it reaches all of them. The film is slated for a release date sometime in 2024.

IT’S OKAY TO NOT BE OKAY REMAKE

2024 is a big year for K-drama remakes and acting comebacks. One project that already has netizens abuzz is the Philippine remake of the mental health-focused K-drama It’s Okay To Not Be Okay from ABS-CBN. The show has long been rumored to be in development, but we finally got confirmation of the project last December when it was announced that Anne Curtis would be fronting the series, which is honestly enough to get us watching. Joining Anne in her first teleserye role in years are Joshua Garcia and Carlo Aquino. It is slated to air sometime this year. 

SUNSHINE

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In development since 2020, Antoinette Jadaone’s next film will star Maris Racal as a gymnast. The movie is set to follow a young gymnast named Sunshine who discovers that she is pregnant during the week of the national team tryouts. As she finds ways to abort the fetus, she encounters a mysterious woman who seemingly talks and thinks like her.

Based on what the director and star have said about the film, it seems that we’re in for an emotional ride that touches women’s reproductive rights (and the lack thereof) in the country. Consider us seated. While no release date has been given, we’re hopeful for a 2024 release after the movie received funding from the Film Development Council of the Philippines.

NOKTURNO

No MMFF, no problem. After being skipped over from last year’s Metro Manila Film Festival, we’re hoping to see Nadine Lustre’s next horror film get a wide release this year. Nadine’s next film with Deleter director Mikhail Red centers on a curse brought by the Kumakatok, tall, thin creatures that have long, pale fingers. They wear veils and come knocking at night. If you answer the door, you are cursed to die or lose a loved one in three days.

The movie’s events kick into motion when Jamie (Lustre), an OFW, returns to her isolated home province when rumors of mysterious killings brought about by a primal curse begin to circulate. There, she deals with her estranged mother Lilet (Eula Valdez), and the rest of her conservative family. Given how Jamie is progressive and a skeptic, a conflict arises between Jamie and her traditional family. But she must confront her family’s dark and troubled past to survive the curse of the Kumakatok.

 BALOTA

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For years, Cinemalaya has been a haven for excellent Filipino movies. 2023’s edition gave us, among other titles, Gitling and Iti Mapukpukaw. 2024 looks to follow that trend. And one film on our radar is Kip Oebanda’s Balota. This Cinemalaya 2024 finalist deals with the country’s complicated, messy, and often bloody election system. It centers on a tight race between two people vying to be mayor of a small town.

Typical of Philippine politics, the two nominees are a land-grabbing tycoon and a former sexy male actor. But when violence erupts, Emmy, a teacher, flees into the wilderness with a ballot box, the last copy of the election results. Emmy and the local community must then work together to stop people from cheating and destroying a fair election.