Kris Aquino takes blame for ‘disappointing’ initial box-office result of JoshLia movie

The Queen of All Media took to her Instagram account to share her sentiments about the outcome of her Star Cinema movie with Joshua Garcia and Julia Barretto titled “I Love You, Hater”.

After it hit Philippine theaters on July 11, Star Cinema revealed that “I Love You, Hater” has already earned P40 million since July 15.

The said movie follows the story of Zoey and Joke, played by Barretto and Garcia respectively, and their corporate battle as they both apply to become the assistant of a digital media company CEO named Sasha, Aquino’s character.

Aquino said in an Instagram post that she was initially “disappointed” with the box-office result of her comeback movie with Star Cinema.

“[Sa totoo lang], I was disappointed sa first two days [of showing] kasi ‘di nakakahiya ‘yung finished product and I gave all to Sasha. Mostly, ayokong sirain ang box office track record ng JoshLia,” she wrote.

In a separate post, Aquino also said that she will take full responsibility for the outcome of their film.

“Nasabi ko naman na buong-buo ang loob at paninindigan, inaako ko ang kinalabasan ng kita ng ‘I Love You, Hater’. Kaya kong gawin ‘yun dahil mahabang-mahaba pa ang journey ni [Joshua and Julia]. They don’t deserve to suffer for having worked with me. Mahusay na director si [Giselle Andres] and naging mabuti ang trato sa ‘kin ng mga nakatrabaho ko sa Star Cinema,” she said.

Nevertheless, Aquino still expressed her gratitude to all of her family, friends, colleagues, and fans who watched the movie.

Julia defends Kris

Aquino’s co-star, Julia Barretto, took to Instagram to post a lengthy open letter that talks about the ups and downs of filmmaking and being an actress.

“The team of [I Love You, Hater] from the actors to Direk Giselle, our writers, staff & crew, Star Cinema ADPROM and ABS CBN worked sleepless nights, braved the storm and worked till our own bodies gave up on us to produce a good quality film. It’s about time they get the recognition and appreciation they deserve.

“We made a movie to add positivity to people’s lives and make them feel that they’re not alone. We are not going to allow any kind of negativity to lurk around our film,” she said on the post.

An open letter— In my whole journey as an actress, more often I was doubted, I was judged, I had to deal with scrutiny from people who did not know me, who made me suffer the consequences of the mistakes I did not commit and people did not give me a chance. People did not give me the chance to make some mistakes, learn and to better myself. Other than the fact that I love my craft, I love what I do and I feel strongly passionate about acting— I’ve always wanted to prove myself. I’ve always wanted to prove my doubters wrong. I’ve always wanted to be more than my last name. I wanted my hard work to get the credit and not my last name. I wanted to make a name for myself. “I Love You, Hater” is a film I poured my heart and soul into. I was faced with one of the biggest challenges of my life before doing this film and I don’t think I was able to really pour my heart out as Julia and took the chance with Zoey. My every heartache, the every pain I felt in my body as Julia, I used Zoey as my outlet. I wanted to speak to people as Julia through Zoey & this is why I embraced Zoey. I embraced this film. I put down my walls, I let people in and see me at my most vulnerable THE TEAM of ILYH from the actors to Direk Giselle, our writers, staff & crew, Star Cinema ADPROM and ABS CBN worked sleepless nights, braved the strom and worked till our own bodies gave up on us to produce a good quality film. It’s about time they get the recognition and appreciation they deserve. We made a movie to add positivity to people’s lives and make them feel that they’re not alone. We are not going to allow any kind of negativity to lurk around our film From Day 1 of our showing, Joshua and I talk about how overwhelming the feedback, appreciation and love we’ve been receiving. Our journey has been so magical and special because we are getting the perfect amount of support… from our family, our friends, star cinema, our network & our supporters. ❤️ TRULY, at the end of the day, the Lord’s plan PREVAILS.

A post shared by Julia (@juliabarretto) on Jul 16, 2018 at 9:39pm PDT

On the comments section of the post, some netizens asked if ABS-CBN did not support the film or does Aquino has something to do with the initial box office result.

“The network won’t put out money & produce a film they won’t support, I don’t see the logic. They have been so supportive and generous to our film,” Barretto replied to one of the comments.

Speaking about Aquino, Barretto also had only nice things to say about the Queen of All Media.

“No she did not ruin the movie & no she is not spreading negativity. I can’t imagine anyone else playing the role of Madam Sasha,” she commented on Instagram.