Sarah Geronimo, John Lloyd crowned King and Queen of the Box Office 2008!

Sarah and John Lloyd is now officially the box-office King and Queen for 2008! Congratulations! But as expected, the very humble Sarah honored Ai Ai as the true box-office queen.

Yesterday, it was reported that Sarah Geronimo and John Lloyd Cruz will be crowned Box-office King and Queen by the Guillermo Mendoza Awards for their movie A Very Special Love. Since the film is being pitted against Ai-Ai de las Alas’s Tanging Ina N’yong Lahat for the box office title, some are worried that tension would arise between the two.


When ABS-CBN.com caught up with Sarah though, she insisted that the country’s Queen of Comedy is more deserving of that title than herself. “Siyempre medyo na-bother po ako nung nalaman ko na may ganyang issue kasi katrabaho ko si Ms A. (referring to Ai-Ai). Kung sa akin nga lang po mas karapat-dapat talaga si Ms. A na tawaging Box Office Queen,” she said after the presscon of her movie You Changed My Life opposite John Lloyd Cruz. “Siyempre napakatagal na niya sa industriya at alam naman natin ang success ng Tanging Ina N’yong Lahat. Hindi naman sa ino-overlook ko yung success namin [sa A Very Special Love]. Kumbaga respeto na lang kay Ms. A,” she added.


As it happens, there are reports that Ai-Ai mentioned in previous interviews that she would be hurt if she fails to get the Box Office Queen award. “May nagsabi sa akin na parang [may issue nga daw involving the two of us]. Pero yung part na ‘yan hindi ko narinig. Basta parang ano lang, alam ni Ms. A na siya talaga yung Box Office Queen,” stated Sarah, who clearly didn’t want to talk about such rumors anymore. “Hindi ko ide-deny na nagkakaroon [ako] ng lungkot na may gano’ng issue. Pero I guess gano’n talaga. Kumbaga si Ms. Ai-Ai may ipinaglalaban siya so basta yun nirerespeto ko,” she stressed.


Apart from those intrigues, there is also pressure for Sarah to do better in You Changed My Life after the phenomenal success of her first film. But the young singer-actress refused to be daunted by it all. “Bawat eksena nandun yung tension eh, yung pressured ka. Pero katulad ng ginawa ko nung launching movie ko, hindi ko na lang masyado inintindi yung kaba at yung pressure. Mas nagfo-focus ako dun sa character ko, kung paano ako magiging believable. I guess yun siguro advantage nun. Nag-reflect yung [ganun kong attitude] sa movie. Nag-enjoy at umuwi nang nakangiti ang mga viewers. Ganun din yung gusto k’ng pairalin dito sa sequel. Ayoko na i-entertain yung negative vibes and pressure. As long as nag-eenjoy kami at sinigurado naming maganda yung sequel, okay na ako dun,” she explained.


Her first onscreen kiss (as well as in real life for that matter) with John Lloyd Cruz happens to be a big deal amongst the local media and the moviegoers since they have been all waiting for Sarah to venture into more mature roles. But it seems that everyone has to wait until the opening of the movie to see whether she has taken this huge step or not. “Secret. Panoorin ni’yo na lang. Ayoko munang magkwento tungkol dun. Katulad nga ng sinabi ni John Lloyd, abangan ni’yo kung paano namin yun ginawa. Basta hindi naman po ako masyadong nahirapan kasi inaalagaan naman ako ni John Lloyd, mas kumportable na po ako sa kanya at alam ko ring hindi ako pababayaan ni Direk Cathy (Garcia-Molina). Yung sinasabi niyong nagiging daring na ako [dahil dun sa halik sa braso na ipinakita sa trailer], hindi naman po siguro. Kumportable lang talaga akong katrabaho sila,” she maintained.


What’s really important to her now is that people will appreciate what she and the whole team of You Changed My Life have worked hard on. “Isa talagang blessing para sa akin ang makatrabaho ang katulad ni Direk Cathy and ni John Lloyd. Simula nung makatrabaho ko po sila, nagbago din talaga yung buhay ko, maraming dumating na blessings sa akin at mas naging inspired akong magtrabaho. Iba rin talaga yung experience ko while doing A Very Special Love. So kung hindi man po ma-surpass, sana mapantayan man lang ng You Changed My Life yung nauna. Sana mas marami pa rin kaming mapasayang mga tao, nandun pa rin yung kilig, at maramdaman pa rin nila yung love story ni Miggy Montenegroat Laida Magtalas,” she exclaimed. [Rachelle Siazon/ABS-CBN]