Being one of the biggest love teams in the country, real-life lovers Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla (aka KathNiel) have been giving their fans heavy doses of kilig since 2012 through their many romantic movies.
Can't decide which KathNiel movie to watch next? Check out this guide below:
24/7 In Love (2012)
For their very first movie project as a love team, KathNiel worked together with an all-star cast from Star Magic, in celebration of its 20th anniversary. In 24/7 In Love, Daniel plays Billy Fernandez, a teen heartthrob giving out free tickets to his concert for a lucky fan who can answer the question, "What would you do if it was the end of the world?" Jane (Kath), a die-hard fan, traveled around the metro where she captured stories of different people to come up with a documentary-type video presentation as her entry.
24/7 In Love is a romantic anthology composed of six different love stories, all progressing and ending in unexpected ways. KathNiel's scenes served as the bridge connecting every character in the story.
Sisterakas (2012)
The two then starred with supporting roles in an entry for the 2012 Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) by Star Cinema and Viva Films featuring Vice Ganda, Ai Ai delas Alas, and Kris Aquino.
Daniel portrayed Angelo, the godson/adopted son of Bernice (Vice). Bernice wanted to get revenge on her half-sister Bernadette Sabroso (Ai Ai), the mother of Kathy (Kathryn).
Must Be… Love (2013)
For their first lead roles on the big screen, the movie followed Patchot (Kathryn), a boyish teenage girl, who fell in love with her childhood best friend, Ivan (Daniel). Raised as "one of the boys" by her father (John Estrada), Patchot follows her pursuit of love but ends up finding herself instead.
The movie also features then-upcoming leading lady Liza Soberano as KathNiel's third party, Angel (Patchot's cousin), who captured Ivan's heart at first sight.
Pagpag: Siyam na Buhay (2013)
This 2013 MMFF film sets Kath and Daniel apart from other love teams of their generation because they starred in a horror (not a romance) flick together! Pagpag follows a group of teenagers that are terrorized by an evil spirit and involves a lot of screams, a charm bracelet, and numerous Filipino superstitions—also known as pamahiin—about funerals and the dead.
She's Dating the Gangster (2014)
She's Dating the Gangster (SDTG) is the breakthrough movie of the couple. Adapting a popular work written by Bianca Bernardino, SDTG was originally published in a section of candymag.com. It was then uploaded as a story on the platform Wattpad and became online famous. For the film adaptation, Star Cinema and Director Cathy Garcia-Molina added some twists to this coming-of-age story. Set in the '90s, Kathryn breathed life to the character of Athena Dizon, a kind-hearted, geeky student who fell in love with Kenji delos Reyes, played by Daniel—her bully (read: gangster) classmate. The film shows how true love requires time and sacrifice.
Also playing as the present-time storytellers—Kelay and Kenneth, KathNiel proved their versatility as actors, helping the movie hit number eight on the 2014 Philippine Yearly Box Office with P296 million total gross.
Crazy Beautiful You (2015)
In Crazy Beautiful You, Kath plays Jackie, a daring woman with a rebellious spirit. With the intention to fix her up, her mom (Lorna Tolentino) forced her to join their medical mission in Tarlac hoping that she'd turn for the better. She then meets Kiko (Daniel), the illegitimate son of their mayor, who made her realize how someone seen as "broken" could be considered as something beautiful.
For this movie, Kathryn and Daniel seemed to deviate from their usual on-screen image. Kathryn played a "bad," daring girl while Daniel sported a funny, responsible character. Daniel and Kathryn were then hailed as the Prince and Princess of Philippine Movies during the 47th Guillermo Mendoza Memorial Scholarship Foundation (GMMSF) Box-Office Entertainment Awards in 2016. The movie earned a total gross of P320 million.
Barcelona: A Love Untold (2016)
For Eli (Daniel), being in Barcelona represents the fulfillment of his promise to his beloved girlfriend, Celine, who passed away. There, he accidentally meets Mia (Kath) who reminds him of her. They find each other journeying through their individual self-redemption trips but end up finding themselves falling for each other. In this story of healing and moving on, KathNiel showed their development as actors with their first heavy drama project together.
Directed by no less than Inang Olivia Lamasan, this movie served as transition film for the love team from teen to mature roles. After five years of being a love team, Barcelona showed the couple's first on-screen kiss.
During its opening day, the film earned P23 million, and a total gross of P321 million worldwide. Pushing further the success, the movie won Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Production Design awards during the 65th FAMAS. Daniel's acting for Barcelona proved incomparable when he won Best Actor from FAMAS and Movie Actor of the Year from 33rd PMPC Star Awards for Movies last 2017. Daniel and Kath also received the awards of Box Office King and Queen from 2017 GMMSF Box-Office Entertainment Awards.
Can't Help Falling In Love (2017)
Drunk on freedom, feelings, and booze, strangers Gab dela Cuesta (Kath) and Jose Ibarra Gonzales Jr. or Dos (Daniel) had the craziest night of their lives: they get legally married. The story unfolds as the two try to annul their marriage in preparation for Gab's upcoming wedding to her longtime boyfriend. However, while finding their way out of their secret marriage, the two fall in love with each other.
Proving that sometimes it only takes a short time for true love to come around, the movie showed the charm of KathNiel through this comical and sweet movie. It highlights the tandem's natural chemistry, coupled with dramatic drone shots of breathtaking sceneries of South Cebu.
The Hows of Us (2018)
The Hows of Us (THOU) features the stages a relationship goes through, from the sweet courtship to intimate honeymoon stage, up to the rocky, supposedly-stable individual maturity of the couple. George (Kathryn) is a go-getter medical student who shifted her priorities in order for Primo (Daniel) to reach his dream of being a successful musician. Claiming that she fell in love with Primo's ambition and natural brilliance, George found herself choosing between loving Primo or taking care of herself.
Using a play with the word "hows" and "house," the story centered on the ancestral house George and Primo shared before, during, and after their break up. It presents the other side of loving someone immensely.
The film was critically acclaimed with reviews saying that the movie features KathNiel's best performance. THOU made its mark in the Philippine cinema by being the highest grossing Filipino film of all time, earning more than P601 million locally in 20 days. The film surpassed the P800 million mark worldwide.