Tayo Sa Wakas opened strong at the Philippine box office, earning P12 million on its first day on May 27 and setting the highest opening-day gross for a local film so far in 2026.
The romance drama, starring Donny Pangilinan and Belle Mariano, is currently showing in 250 cinema screens nationwide, marking a major theatrical comeback for the DonBelle tandem and a strong start for Star Cinema’s first film offering of the year. ABS-CBN News reported the P12-million opening-day gross on May 28, citing the film’s first-day performance as the top local opening for 2026 to date.
Directed by Cathy Garcia-Sampana, Tayo Sa Wakas follows long-time couple Cisco and Cheska, once partners in both love and career, as they confront how ambition, distance, and personal growth begin to pull them in different directions. The film centers on a “break-up trip” where the couple must decide whether to finally let go or fight for their relationship one last time.
The film also carries added emotional weight for fans because it has been positioned as Pangilinan and Mariano’s “last for now” project as a love team, with the pair earlier confirming that they are putting the DonBelle tandem on pause after the movie.
That context helped turn the film’s release into both a box-office event and a fandom milestone. The movie’s premiere drew emotional reactions from fans and celebrities, with ABS-CBN News noting that the project serves as Mariano and Pangilinan’s last project “for now” as their love team takes a break.
“Tayo Sa Wakas” also brings DonBelle back to the big screen after their 2022 film “An Inconvenient Love.” Its campaign began building momentum months before release, with the announcement teaser generating 5.9 million cumulative views across platforms within 18 hours, a sign of the pair’s still-powerful pull among online audiences.
The film is written by Vanessa R. Valdez, with the official movie site listing Garcia-Sampana as director, Valdez for story and screenplay, Yves R. Jamero as cinematographer, Jessie Lasaten as music scorer, and Star Cinema and ABS-CBN as studio partners.
Its supporting cast includes Epy Quizon, Joross Gamboa, River Joseph, Yayo Aguila, Allan Paule, Matthew Mendoza, and other actors who help frame the story beyond the central couple.
The project also reunites DonBelle with one of the country’s most commercially proven romance filmmakers. Garcia-Sampana, long associated with Star Cinema’s biggest love stories, returns with a more mature relationship drama that leans into endings, ambition, and the difficult question of whether love can survive when two people no longer want the same future.
Beyond its local release, “Tayo Sa Wakas” is set for an international rollout. The film will open in Australia and New Zealand on June 11, followed by the United States, Canada, and Guam on June 12. It is also scheduled for release in Malaysia in June, Hong Kong and Macau on June 21, and Taiwan on August 7, with a Middle East release still listed as coming soon.
The strong opening gives Star Cinema an early 2026 box-office win and signals that local romance dramas, particularly those driven by established fandoms and event-style releases, remain capable of drawing audiences back to cinemas.
For DonBelle, the P12-million first-day haul also turns Tayo Sa Wakas into more than a farewell-for-now project. It becomes a commercial statement that even as the love team pauses, its audience is still showing up.