Star Cinema was founded in 1993 to transform ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation into a true entertainment company. Although still a new player in the film industry, Star Cinema has poised itself to be a major competitor of big film companies like Viva Films and Regal Entertainment. Its strategies to reflect the viewer's current taste and trends has proven to be successful starting from the 1990s with a string of films targeted to mainstream viewers with film genres ranging from action, drama, comedy, horror, and fantasy. The films of Star Cinema in the 1990s has been well received with some earning critical acclaims with films including May Minamahal, , Madrasta, Magic Temple, and Bata, Bata… Pa'no Ka Ginawa?. The 1990s also saw the pioneering works of the company by hiring third-party companies to integrate state-of-the-art computer generated images and special effects and makeup/prosthetic into some of its films like Patayin sa Sindak si Barbara, Magic Temple, Kokey, Magandang Hatinggabi, Hiling, and Puso ng Pasko among others. Other notable works are live-action adaptations of popular Japanese anime series like Sarah... Ang Munting Prinsesa and Cedie, in turn based on children's novels by English playwright and author Frances Hodgson Burnett, which incorporates stylish production designs and costumes and was shot abroad. Star Cinema also made a film adaptation of ABS-CBN's phenomenon TV series with films like Mara Clara: The Movie, released in 1996 and Mula Sa Puso: The Movie and Esperanza: The Movie both released in 1999. In 1997, 1998 and 2000, Star Cinema produced Goodbye America, Legacy, and Doomsdayer respectively under the banner of Star Pacific Cinema in an attempt to penetrate the HollywoodB-movie market. The year 2000 and beyond has been the most successful time for Star Cinema in terms of box office gross. In this period, Star Cinema's films are topping the box office chart in the Philippines which regularly garners an average of 70% of the local film market based from the filings of ABS-CBN Corporation in the Philippine Stock Exchange. Most of the all-time highest-grossing films in the history of the Philippines are either produced or co-produced by Star Cinema as reported by Box Office Mojo. In 2002, Star Cinema together with Unitel Pictures released the Filipino-American film American Adobo with mixed reviews in the United States. In 2010, Star Cinema co-financed and released RPG Metanoia, the first 3D computer animated Filipino film in history. In 2013, Star Cinema co-financed and released Erik Matti's On the Job with mixed to positive reviews abroad. Star Cinema films that was well received by critics in this period were Anak, Tanging Yaman, Bagong Buwan, Dekada '70, Nasaan Ka Man, Kasal, Kasali, Kasalo, In My Life, and On the Job.
Star Creatives Television
The television unit of ABS-CBN Film Productions is Star Creatives TV, it was established in 2000 to produce telenovelas for the ABS-CBN television network. It started its television venture in 2000 with Pangako Sa ’Yo, a series that had gained huge following in the country and abroad. The series had a very successful run in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, Namibia, Kenya, Singapore, and China. In Kenya, the series paved the way for other teleseryes which remain popular till today. It was followed by another successful series Kay Tagal Kang Hinintay. In 2008, its most expensive television production Lobo received the Banff World Media Festival for best telenovela program and earned Angel Locsin an International Emmy Awards nomination for best performance of an actress. Sana Maulit Muli also gained a following in Taiwan when it was dubbed in Taiwanese Minnan. Kahit Isang Saglit became a finalist in the 37th International Emmy Awards. Its 2010 production Magkaribal became a finalist to the 2011 New York International Independent Film and Video Festival for best telenovela. Budoy is also a finalist to the 2013 New York Festivals International Television and Film Awards. Bridges of Love is the first Philippine telenovela to be released in Latin American countries including Peru. Soap operas produced by Star Creatives had been subtitled and dubbed to several languages including English, Spanish, Turkish, Khmer, Mandarin and French and most notably those that are targeted to Asia Pacific and South Africa. One of the programs dubbed in French is Kay Tagal Kang Hinintay which will cater to French-speaking audience in Africa and Europe. Star Cinema has also produced TV promos, spots and specials for the ABS-CBN network. In 2011, Star Cinema spent for the Philippine National Anthemvideo clip of ABS-CBN network.
Film distribution
Star Cinema distributes all of its films as well as movies produced by other production companies. In recent years, due to the popularity of independent films, Star Cinema created new divisions that would cater the niche markets. These are Sine Screen and Skylight Films. Star Cinema also redistributes classic films restored by ABS-CBN Film Archives and Central Digital Lab, Inc. In 2015, Star Cinema released the Cinema One Originals film That Thing Called Tadhana with critical and box office success. The film went on to gross over against its budget of only two-million pesos.
