Heneral Luna

This article is about the biopic war film with General Antonio Luna. For a biography about the Filipino general, see Antonio Luna.

Heneral Luna
Official movie poster
Directed byJerrold Tarog
Written by
  • Henry Francia
  • E. A. Rocha
  • Jerrold Tarog
Based onLife of Antonio Luna
Produced byE.A. Rocha
Fernando Ortigas
Starring
CinematographyPong Ignacio
Edited byJerrold Tarog
Music byJerrold Tarog
Production
company
Distributed by
  • Quantum Films
  • Abramorama (United States)[1]
Release date
  • September 9, 2015 (2015-09-09)
Running time
118 minutes
CountryPhilippines
LanguagesFilipino
Spanish
English
Budget₱80 million[2]
Box office₱256 million[3]

Heneral Luna (lit. 'General Luna') is a 2015 Filipino epic war film starring John Arcilla as the titular character Antonio Luna who led the Philippine Revolutionary Army during the early phases of the Philippine–American War. Directed by Jerrold Tarog and produced by Artikulo Uno Productions, the film received critical acclaim from critics, praising its cinematography, writing, acting and plot. The film was selected as the Philippine entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 88th Academy Awards but it was not nominated.[4]

With a production budget of ₱80 million,[5][6] it is one of the most expensive Filipino epic historical films ever released. On September 29, 2015, it broke the previous record of ₱160 million to become the highest grossing Filipino historical film of all time.[7][8][9] Despite a 50% discount that was offered to student viewers,[10] by the beginning of its fourth week, the film was well on its way to reaching the ₱200 million gross ticket sales.[11] On October 11, it was officially announced that the film had reached its ₱240 million break even point.[5] The film's success spawned the sequel Goyo: Ang Batang Heneral, which focuses on General Gregorio Del Pilar during the Philippine–American War.

  1. ^ Saepoff, Sonya (October 20, 2015). "Abramorama to Release Philippine Academy Award Entry 'Heneral Luna'". Indiewire. Indiewire.com. Retrieved October 23, 2015.
  2. ^ Bayani San Diego Jr. (October 11, 2015). "'Heneral Luna': Lesson in breaking the rules". Philippine Daily Inquirer.
  3. ^ "John Lloyd, Bea, Vice, Coco, Vic, Ai-Ai lead winners at the Box Office Entertainment Awards" (in Filipino). Philippine Entertainment Portal. February 21, 2016. Retrieved February 21, 2016.
  4. ^ "'Heneral Luna' is PH official entry to Oscar best foreign language film category". Interaksyon. September 21, 2015. Archived from the original on September 23, 2015. Retrieved September 21, 2015.
  5. ^ a b Bayani San Diego Jr. (October 11, 2015). "'Heneral Luna' earns P240 million, breaks even". Philippine Daily Inquirer.
  6. ^ "Philippines Sends 'Heneral Luna' To Battle for Foreign-Language Oscar". Variety. September 21, 2015. Retrieved September 21, 2015.
  7. ^ V, Marcus. "'Heneral Luna' breaks P160M mark on third week, producer confident of sequel".
  8. ^ "'Heneral Luna' continues charge, hits P160M". ABS-CBN News. September 30, 2015. Archived from the original on December 16, 2023. Retrieved September 15, 2024.
  9. ^ "'Heneral Luna' now 'highest-grossing Filipino historical film of all time'". entertainment.inquirer.net. October 2015.
  10. ^ "'Heneral Luna' draws bigger crowds, adds more theaters on second week | Entertainment News – InterAksyon.com". Archived from the original on September 23, 2015.
  11. ^ Atty. Joji Alonso. "HENERAL LUNA's countdown to achieve the 200M break even point". Facebook.com.