Billy Eichner, who co-wrote and starred in the gay romantic comedy, “Bros,” blamed a poor showing at the box office on “homophobic weirdos.”
EVERYONE WHO ISN’T A HOMOPHOBIC WEIRDO SHOULD GO SEE BROS TONIGHT! YOU WILL HAVE A BLAST! AND IT *IS* SPECIAL AND UNIQUELY POWERFUL TO SEE THIS PARTICULAR STORY ON A BIG SCREEN, ESP FOR QUEER FOLKS WHO DON’T GET THIS OPPORTUNITY OFTEN. I LOVE THIS MOVIE SO MUCH. GO BROS!!!
— BILLY EICHNER (@BILLYEICHNER) OCTOBER 2, 2022
The movie made $4.6 million in its opening weekend, putting it in fourth place behind “The Woman King” ($7 million), “Don’t Worry Darling” ($7.3 million), and “Smile” ($22 million).
Eichner was not shy as to why the movie did not sell more tickets.
“Even with glowing reviews, great Rotten Tomatoes scores, an A CinemaScore etc, straight people, especially in certain parts of the country, just didn’t show up for Bros,” Eichner wrote. “And that’s disappointing but it is what it is.”
“Everyone who ISN’T a homophobic weirdo should go see BROS tonight!” he continued. “You will have a blast! And it *is* special and uniquely powerful to see this particular story on a big screen, esp for queer folks who don’t get this opportunity often.”
Exhibitor Relations analyst Jeff Bock pointed out that comedies are, in general, having a tough time at the box office in today’s movie market.
“With big names like Adam Sandler, Kevin Hart, Eddie Murphy, Melissa McCarthy and even Ryan Reynolds lending out their talents to streamers, the theatrical marketplace for comedies has cratered,” Bock explained. “I think anytime a studio releases a comedy — regardless of content — aimed for a very specific demographic, they’ve limited their box office potential.”
“Comedies that work in theaters are action/comedy hybrids — like Jumanji, Sonic the Hedgehog and Bad Boys For Life,” Bock said. “The small studio comedy may become a thing of the past — at least for now.”
The film, which cost $22 million to make, premiered last month at the Toronto International Film Festival. It has been described as the first gay romantic comedy released by a major studio.
Even with endorsement from a major studio like Universal, “Bros” has faced an uphill battle in national acceptance.
“At one point a theatre chain called Universal and said they were pulling the trailer because of gay content,” Eichner wrote. “That’s just the world we live in, unfortunately.”
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