MANILA, Philippines--Fantasy flicks continue to rule the tills, on the seventh day of the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF), according to official records obtained by the Inquirer from the fest’s executive committee.

As of Dec. 31, 2009, GMA Films’/Imus Productions’ fantasy action epic “Ang Panday,” the Best Picture winner in this year’s fest, posted P58 million.

First-placer “Panday” is headlined by actor-politician Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr.

Second place went to OctoArts/M-Zet/APT’s horror-comedy movie “Ang Darling Kong Aswang,” with P56.5 million.

“Darling” features Vic Sotto, a perennial topnotcher in the fest’s box-office derby.

In third place is Regal Entertainment’s horror franchise “Shake, Rattle & Roll XI,” with P53 million. The long-running thriller franchise consistently figures in the top three of the fest’s box-office race.

The drama films continue to trail behind the special-effects flicks.

Star Cinema’s romantic drama “I Love You, Goodbye” earned P51 million, landing in the fourth spot.

Regal Entertainment’s Chinese-Filipino family drama “Mano Po 6: A Mother’s Love,” which won a number of trophies (including the Gender Sensitive honor and the Gatpuno Antonio Villegas Cultural award) is in fifth place, with P25 million.

Regal’s drama entry, which stars Sharon Cuneta, was also graded A by the Cinema Evaluation Board, which is under the auspices of the Film Development Council of the Philippines.

The comedy-drama film “Nobody, Nobody But . . . Juan,” top-billed by Comedy King Dolphy, is in sixth place, with P23 million.

In the last spot is “Wapakman,” a superhero flick starring boxing champ Manny Pacquiao. It earned only P2.1 million after seven days—the only MMFF fest entry that failed to break the double-digit mark.

From all indications, this year’s fest earnings can beat previous years’ P400 million mark, said Ric Camaligan, an MMFF executive committee member. “The sales are okay,” said Camaligan.

Camaligan expressed the hope that this year’s earnings would reach the fest’s target of P.5 billion.

Last year, the fest earned P248.5 million in five days. This year, it earned an aggregate of P268.6—a somewhat smaller figure as expected, but it still didn’t include the New Year grosses.