# And the Breadwinner Is...

And the Breadwinner Is... is a 2024 Philippine family comedy-drama film directed by Jun Robles Lana from a screenplay he co-written with Daisy G. Cayanan and Jonathan "Jumbo" Albano, who wrote the story concept. The film features an ensemble cast featuring Vice Ganda and Eugene Domingo. It follows the story of a breadwinner who returns to the country after working overseas.
A co-production of Star Cinema and The IdeaFirst Company, it marks the very first collaboration between the two production companies and Vice Ganda's second film without the involvement of Viva Films since The Super Parental Guardians and his first film after a two-year hiatus in cinema. It was released theatrically on December 25, 2024, as part of the 50th Metro Manila Film Festival.

## Plot

Bambi Salvador has been working as an OFW in Taiwan for 15 years in the hopes of bringing a better life for her family and sends her savings home to construct a new house. After the death of a colleague, she decides to return to the Philippines to surprise her family and celebrate her birthday. On her arrival however, she comes across her residence in a dilapidated state and her mother unable to recognize her due to her worsening Alzheimer’s disease. After her younger brother Biboy admits to squandering her remittances and falling heavily into debt, Bambi walks out and sleeps over at her friend Jovie. But after having a vision of her deceased father, Bambi returns to her family to fulfill her vow to support them after Popshie's death.
Bambi stumbles upon her wake being held at her home and is trampled by fleeing attendees who mistake her for a ghost. Her siblings tell her that she had been declared dead after her ID was found on a pickpocket who was run over. They also urge her to pretend being dead after learning about her life insurance policy from an insurance agent, Tonton. Bambi accepts after seeing Biboy being assaulted by loan sharks. She utilizes multiple disguises to attend her wake and avoid being recognized, but is interrupted by the return of her estranged older sister Baby. Baby is informed of the insurance scam and supports it. She later reveals that she had fallen into debt while working in Italy and was unable to send remittances back home. After staging her funeral, Bambi proposes reopening Popshie's bakery and coopts her siblings to help. During this time, she discovers that her younger brother Boy is gay and encourages her. She also teaches Biboy how to bake and gradually reconciles with Baby, who is the only person to know Popshie's secret recipe. The bakery becomes a success, helping them recover financially.
Buneng, Bambi's youngest sibling, has a crush on Tonton, who suspects the Salvadors of committing insurance fraud. During a visit to the Salvador residence, Buneng flirts with Tonton but inadvertently reveals Bambi's friendship with Jovie. Tonton then goes to Jovie, who is unaware of the fraud and says that Bambi celebrated her birthday with them on the day she supposedly died. Tonton returns to the Salvadors' neighborhood and finds Bambi before telling the Salvadors that they would be sued for fraud. Buneng tries to dissuade Tonton, but although Tonton confesses that he likes her, he tells her that he is obliged to sue as he is the nephew of the insurance company owner.
Bambi again lashes out at Biboy for his profligacy, leading Biboy and his wife Mayet to lash out at her for being vengeful. Baby also chastises Bambi for being too kind to her siblings, while Boy says he is afraid of becoming a lonely person like Bambi. In response, Bambi vents out her frustrations at being the only breadwinner in the family and how her siblings start ganging up on her now that she could no longer provide. Their argument is interrupted by Momshie's caregiver Paeng, who tells them that Momshie had wondered off.
Bambi finds Momshie at a bus terminal waiting for her to come home. As Bambi massages Momshie's hands, the latter momentarily regains lucidity and recognizes Bambi, who goes into an emotional breakdown while revealing that she is dying of glioblastoma. Her siblings overhear their conversation and reconcile with her, helping her make the most of her remaining days. They redecorate their bedroom in the style Bambi wanted for her dream house, and accompany her on her deathbed, as she explains to Biboy's children that a pink airplane will take her to heaven. At Bambi's funeral, her family sees a pink aircraft in the sky. Inside, Bambi leads the souls of the deceased as part of her dream job, a flight attendant.
In a mid-credits scene, Tonton decides not to sue the Salvadors and enters into a relationship with Buneng before joining them for a family photo.

## Cast
### Main cast

* Vice Ganda as Bamboo "Bambi" Salvador, the breadwinner of the Salvador family who works as OFW in Taiwan

### Supporting cast

* Eugene Domingo as Baby Salvador, Bambi's oldest sister
* Jhong Hilario as Biboy Salvador, Bambi's younger brother
* Maris Racal as Bianca "Buneng" Salvador, Bambi's youngest sister
* Kokoy de Santos as Boy Salvador, Bambi's youngest gay brother
* Gladys Reyes as Mayet Salvador, Bambi's sister-in-law and Biboy's wife.
* Anthony Jennings as Anton "Tonton" Cruz, a life insurance agent
* Via Antonio as Paeng, Bambi's cousin and caregiver of Momshie Salvador
* Malou de Guzman as Momshie Salvador, Bambi's mother and Popshie Salvador's wife
* Argus Aspiras as Puge Salvador, younger son of Biboy and Mayet Salvador
* Kulot Caponpon as Danda Salvador, older daughter of Biboy and Mayet Salvador

### Special participation

* Joel Torre as Popshie Salvador, Bambi's late father and Momshie's husband
* Kiko Matos as Tope
* Petite as Mikha, a colleague of Bambi in Taiwan
* Lassy Marquez as Jovie, Izzy's husband and Bambi's friend and colleague in Taiwan
* MC Muah as Izzy, Jovie's partner and Bambi's friend who works as a security guard
* Coco Martin as Elias, the brother of Mikha who works as a nurse

## Production

In 2023, Vice Ganda was supposed to do a project with The IdeaFirst Company originally scheduled for a 2023 Metro Manila Film Festival release but was postponed due to a scheduling conflict. In early 2024, Vice Ganda teased regarding a collaboration project with award-winning director Jun Lana during co-actors Gladys Reyes and Cristopher Roxas wedding anniversary celebration. On April 18, 2024, Vice Ganda posted a "new movie alert" teaser on his social media pages. On April 19, 2024, Director Lana joined Ganda on the noontime show It's Showtime to announce the title of the film. This is the first time Lana will direct Vice Ganda. Lana is known for his award-winning directing and writing works for the films Barber's Tales (2013), Die Beautiful (2016), Ang Dalawang Mrs. Reyes (2018) and About Us But Not About Us (2022).
Ganda noted how filming for And the Breadwinner Is... is the "most peaceful" in comparison to his previous projects. He also said that the film would have more drama compared to previous comedy films he appeared in.
Jhong Hilario, notable for his co-hosting duties on It's Showtime, has been announced as part of the film and expressed gratitude towards Vice Ganda for extending the opportunity citing the television series Ang Probinsyano as his last significant acting venture. The movie also served as his reunion with Lana, having worked previously together in two movies produced by GMA Pictures directed by Marilou Diaz-Abaya, Sa Pusod ng Dagat and Jose Rizal, where Lana served as writer and Hilario as cast member for the two films.
On July 16, 2024, it was announced as one of the five initial official entries for the 50th Metro Manila Film Festival – these are the films that were submitted as scripts. The announcement of remaining cast members then followed, which includes Eugene Domingo and Gina Pareño.
Filming started on June 27, 2024. On August 13, 2024, Vice Ganda and other cast members flew to Taiwan to shoot some of the scenes.

## Music

The song "Mapa" by Filipino boy band SB19 was used as the theme for the film. It was originally released in 2021 as part of the EP, Pagsibol.

## Release

And the Breadwinner Is... was theatrically released in cinemas in the Philippines on December 25, 2024, as one of the entries of the 50th Metro Manila Film Festival.
The film also scheduled to premier at Manila International Film Festival (MIFF) in Los Angeles. It also received a Japanese theatrical premiere via the 20th Osaka Asian Film Festival in Osaka on March 18, 2025.

## Reception
### Box office

The film earned more than P460 million in ticket sales by February 20, 2025 and was the seventh film starring Vice Ganda to earn more than P400 million. It was cited by the MMFF as one of the three top-grossing entries for its 2024 edition.

### Critical reception

Josh Mercado, writing for ABS-CBN News, gave the film a positive review, praising the performance of lead star Vice Ganda for capturing the audiences' hearts for playing the family breadwinner which can relate to everyone, and writer-director Jun Lana for its direction. Hannah Malorca, writing for the Philippine Daily Inquirer, also gave praise not only to the lead star and director but also to the performances of the ensemble cast; however, in some aspects of the screenplay, she found faults for its lack of execution in featuring the harsh realities of Vice's character. Arman Cristobal, writing for SINEGANG.ph stated that the film allowed Vice Ganda to express her more intentional rapport while keeping her comedic spirit as well as she broke the stereotype of being ‘just a comedian' and could allow her to explore more serious roles in the future.

### Accolades

Accolades received by And the Breadwinner Is... :
| Year | Award | Category | Recipient(s) | Result |
| 2024 | 50th Metro Manila Film Festival | Best Actor | Vice Ganda | Nominated |
| 2024 | 50th Metro Manila Film Festival | Best Supporting Actor | Jhong Hilario | Nominated |
| 2024 | 50th Metro Manila Film Festival | Best Supporting Actor | Kokoy de Santos | Nominated |
| 2024 | 50th Metro Manila Film Festival | Best Float | And the Breadwinner Is... | Nominated |
| 2024 | 50th Metro Manila Film Festival | Best Gender-Sensitive Film | And the Breadwinner Is... | Won |
| 2024 | 50th Metro Manila Film Festival | Fernando Poe Jr. Memorial Award for Excellence | And the Breadwinner Is... | Nominated |
| 2024 | 50th Metro Manila Film Festival | Special Jury Citation | Vice Ganda | Won |
| 2025 | 3rd Gawad Dangal Filipino Awards | Best Picture | And The Breadwinner Is... | 2nd |
| 2025 | 5th Pinoy Rebyu Awards | Best Lead Performance | Vice Ganda | Pending |
| 2025 | 5th Pinoy Rebyu Awards | Best Ensemble Performance | Vice Ganda Eugene Domingo Joel Torre Malou de Guzman Gladys Reyes Jhong Hilario Maris Racal Anthony Jennings Kokoy de Santos Via Antonio MC Calaquian Lassy Kulot Caponpon Argus Aspiras Petite | Pending |
| 2025 | Platinum Stallion National Media Awards | Best Film Artist Award | Vice Ganda | Won |
| 2025 | Platinum Stallion National Media Awards | Film of the Year | And The Breadwinner Is... | Won |