IT MAY HAVE been the biggest premiere night in local cinema history, and you can probably guess why.

Alden Richards and Maine Mendoza, the love team known as AlDub, joined their fans tonight for the advance screening of their much-awaited first movie, ‘Imagine You & Me,’ at SM Megamall. The fans came in numbers. So did a startling number of big stars who cleared their schedules to be there.

There’s really only one word for the mood in the room, and it’s a Filipino one: kilig, that giddy, heart-fluttering rush of watching romance unfold. It’s the feeling the fans came for, the feeling this sure-hit film was built to test, and probably the one word Alden and Maine would use for seeing so many of their peers show up for them.

Who Showed Up

The fans weren’t just there to see a glowing AlDub. They got prominent Kapuso actors, the whole Dabarkads (the hosts of the noontime show ‘Eat Bulaga!,’ where AlDub was born), and major names from across the entertainment industry, many of them happy to admit they’re fans of the love team of the century too. The Faulkerson and Mendoza families were there as well, to support RJ and Menggay.

First on the red carpet were the King and Queen of Kapuso Primetime, Dingdong Dantes and Marian Rivera-Dantes. What followed looked like a parade. Cast members Kakai Bautista, Jerald Napoles, and Irma Adlawan arrived. Lola Nidora and Lola Tidora came out for their Divina Ursula. Aling Maliit herself, Ryzza Mae Dizon, ran toward the red carpet as excited as any fan.

Award-winning TV and film directors Jun Lana, Louie Ignacio, and Perci Intalan were there too, and so was Jasmine Curtis-Smith, with her rumored boyfriend. And the AlDub supporters packed SM Megamall so tightly it looked like a 100% super sale.

The Kapuso Way

None of this is surprising for Alden and Maine’s first starring movie, and they’ve earned it. It’s also a reminder of how GMA differs from the other networks: it goes all out for its artists’ breakthroughs and milestones, and events like this feel like a big family gathering. The network lives up to its name, Kapuso, which roughly means “one heart”; its stars never have to wonder whether they’re loved.

The movie also marks the first anniversary of AlDub’s instant, well-deserved stardom.

So whether you’re deep in your own kilig season or badly missing the feeling, head to the cinemas starting tomorrow. Just imagine how you, me, and the rest of the country will be squirming in our seats.

Photos from GMANews.com, and Sam, Alden’s manager.