ABS-CBN‘s Star Cinema is betting big on romantic comedy again, setting a March 28 theatrical release for “My Love Will Make You Disappear” across the U.S. and Canada. The film marks the first big-screen team-up of Filipino stars Kim Chiu and Paulo Avelino, whose combined social media following tops 40 million.
Directed by Chad Vidanes and written by Patrick Valencia and Isabella Policarpio, the rom-com follows Sari (Chiu), a woman convinced she’s cursed because every man she loves vanishes. Enter Jolo (Avelino), a brooding landlord grappling with a failing apartment complex. Their paths cross as they fight to save a community from displacement, but Sari’s supposed curse threatens their budding romance.
While Chiu and Avelino have already sparked chemistry in TV hits “Linlang” and “What Happened to Secretary Kim,” this marks their first feature collaboration. Chiu brings her box office draw from hits like “Bride for Rent” and “The Ghost Bride,” while Avelino leverages his dramatic chops from acclaimed turns in “Heneral Luna” and “Fan Girl.”
The distribution team that delivered the record-breaking “Hello, Love, Again” is back in action, with AJMC’s Amorette Jones spearheading marketing alongside distribution veterans Evan Saxon and Joe Garel. The marketing push aims to capitalize on the stars’ massive following while courting broader Asian-American and Hispanic audiences. AJMC’s campaign will lean heavily on social media engagement and strategic partnerships with Filipino-American brands, while utilizing ABS-CBN Global’s international platform.
The distribution strategy follows the playbook that made “Hello, Love, Again” the highest-grossing Filipino film in North America. “Our per-screen averages surpassed even the biggest Hollywood studio films,” Saxon and Garel noted, highlighting the growing appetite for Filipino content in the global market.
“Filipino films continue to gain recognition worldwide, and ‘My Love Will Make You Disappear’ is a testament to the power of kilig as a cultural export,” says ABS-CBN Films head Kriz Gazmen, referring to kilig – that distinctly Filipino feeling of romantic exhilaration that’s become a hallmark of the country’s entertainment exports.
For Star Cinema, which has produced over 200 films since its 1993 founding, the release represents another step in expanding Filipino cinema’s international footprint. The studio continues to target Filipino audiences worldwide while building bridges to broader markets through universal themes and star power.
