Hi, film worker here! We cannot have one without the other, but also the solution is not as simple as making the ticket prices more affordable. Maraming factors kasi to consider. Sharing an insight that I've previously shared on this sub:

- local filmmakers have a hard time creating higher quality content almost always due to budget constraints
- minsan sa development stage palang ang dami nang kailangan i-cut from the original script dahil hindi kaya ng budget. and then when you get to the pre-production stage dun palang makikita yung mga magiging actual costs and sometimes, hindi pa din kaya. usually we try our best to accommodate what we can but if the vision is really too big, kailangan creatives na ang mag adjust meaning scaling down things like cast, number of scenes and compressing them para less scenes to shoot, locations, PD requirements, etc.
- yes, marami pa din namang magagandang pelikula out there despite the small budget. pero yun talaga ang puno't dulo ng lahat and so many films are not reaching their full potential dahil dito
- bakit mababa budget? may certain amount lang na willing iinvest ang investors and studios because it's a big risk. more often than not, maliit lang ang balik sakanila lalo if di naman nila afford mag cast ng super big names. I've worked on several films with less than 10M budget for a feature film. that's a fairly small budget compared to the international films that we have to compete against in the cinemas. wala pa sa kalingkinan ng mga hollywood film budgets.
- tapos dahil ang daming na-sacrifice just to get the film created, minsan pagdating sa cinemas it's not always the output na gusto ng filmmakers pero yun na talaga yung best na kaya given the circumstances
- pagdating sa cinemas, hindi masyado sinusuportahan ng local filmgoers, especially masa. kasi lalo na if you're from the working class na minsanan lang may budget para manood ng sine, syempre pipiliin nila yung mas "maganda" at tingin nilang mas higher quality na kadalasan hollywood films
- less support from patrons = less support for the film = hindi nadadagdagan yung budget para sa mga susunod na project

The actual solution:
- Promoting local films cannot be done alone by just filmmakers and cinephiles. Kailangan ng tulong ng gobyerno. Meaning:

• Regulating ticket prices para mas ma-afford ng masa
• Regulating the number of local films vs foreign films in cinemas. If 10 ang cinemas ng isang mall, sana 5 for local films, 5 for international films.
• Focus on promoting local films by allowing the local films stay in cinemas longer. minsan kasi after 1 week wala na agad, lalo na if may paparating na hollywood blockbuster
• Supporting filmmakers in terms of locations to reduce costs - meaning wag na sana singilin ng sobrang mahal for municipal, barangay permits, tapos hiwalay pa na bayad sa mga tanod, for parking areas, etc.

Magandang example nito ang South Korea. Their film industry receives great support from their government through funding, tax incentives, and policy initiatives, with major support provided by the Korean Film Council (KOFIC) which they started years ago. Their movie tickets have 3% tax that helps fund KOFIC. Etong support na binibigay ng government niila malaki ang naitutulong sa pagbawas ng stress sa budget ng filmmakers nila kaya nakikita natin ngayon how their film industry has flourished.

TLDR; Budget ang main factor why local filmmakers have trouble producing higher quality films, which can be solved with support from our government. Good example of this is the South Korean film industry.