is the first gay romantic comedy with a mostly LGBTQ cast to be given a wide release by a major studio. It played well in big cities, but had disappointing overall numbers in its first weekend. Above, Luke Macfarlane and Billy Eichner.Billy Eichner took to Twitter this weekend to share his thoughts on the disappointing reception his gay rom-comThat’s just the world we live in, unfortunately.
Based on enthusiastic critical reaction at the Toronto International Film Festival, and robust social media attention, Universal Pictures had expected– which is the first gay romantic comedy with a mostly LGBTQ cast to be given a wide release by a major studio — to open in the range of $8-10 million.
But playing in 3,350 locations this weekend, the film took in just $4.8 million, placing fourth at the box office after the horror film, and the third week of historical epicwas produced for a comparatively modest $22 million, Universal spent another $30 million on advertising and promotion, so the film will likely struggle to reach profitability.
Those who saw the comedy this weekend, made it clear they enjoyed it. Eichner tweeted of watching from"the back of a sold out theater playing BROS in LA. The audience howled with laughter start to finish, burst into applause at the end, and some were wiping away tears as they walked out."
I (totally gay) and no gay person I know went to the movie
It was way funnier than expected! Might get a second life once it goes on streaming
But honestly though.. who goes to see a romcom in theaters these days?
Yuck 🤢 🤮🤮🤮🤮
When your marketing strategy is “watch this and like it or you’re a homophobic bigot,” you’re going to fail.
maybe because it's repulsive to so many
I go to theatres for EEAAO and Nope. This isn't even close.
Straight people didn’t show up to a gay romcom? You don’t say
That's because straight people aren't interested. I'm not.
Seemed funny enough from trailer but more suited to the streaming services IMO
I’m not fully on board with the idea of straight people not showing up being ONLY reason it didn’t do well, though I’m sure there was some of that. Rom-Coms regardless of subject matter or identity just don’t appeal to some people. They certainly don’t for me. And that’s ok.
The movie sucks and appeals to the 3% of our population. It will lose $40m for the studio. Last time I checked we have free choice on what we want to watch and how we spend our $$$. Billy is sour that his movie is not as good as the sole Hollywood reviewers gave him credit
I loved this movie. It was so good.
And, straight people WILL NOT waste our time watching this crap. It is un-natural. Let your gays have it for themselves.
I’m gay and a film critic, and I wasn’t interested in watching it either. It’s not a straight people thing. Perhaps it’s a vanity project thing or a ‘there was a major hurricane in the third most populous state and movie theatres closed’ thing. Many factors at play.
I just don't care for Billy Eichner.
Well, duh.
There are lots of great gay movies, including Moonlight, Birdcage, Brokeback Mountain, Dallas Buyers Club, etc etc. Many won Academy Awards. Im sure this is a good film. Maybe we are watching the extreme damage done to the culture by identity politics, political correctness etc.
Do romantic comedies, as a genre, normally sell well at the box office? Genuine question. For some of us, it’s more about not liking rom-coms, rather than not wanting to watch a gay couple. I definitely want to see M. Night Shyamalan’s new movie that stars two gay men.
🏹 here. I saw it and it was hilarious. I love rom coms and this just so happened to have gay men. billyeichner
I did, billyeichner, and I'm better for it.
I just don't go to movies unless its a big blockbuster. Too expensive. Also, do RomComs ever do great?
Thats why they called Straight. The few, the proud, the Heterosexual.
I’m bi & I have zero desire to watch a romantic comedy about two dudes.
Nice weather in the third largest market?
Has Billy ever considered that maybe nobody showed up because he's genuinely one of the most annoying people on the planet? Running up to people in the street and yelling at them is not as great as he thinks. Nor does it make you a star ready for the big screen.
To me, that's not a choice to not support the movie, I just have to pick and choose which movies I see in theaters. It's a protest against obscenely inflated theater pricing. (in SF, it was $32 to see Avatar last week) I'll buy it on Blu-ray later.
The movie wasn't gay enough.
I saw the movie. It was B-. Not bad, full house, but mostly chuckles here and there. Not the comedic hit we were expecting from Judd Apatow. At times the story was refreshing, at others it fell short. The same is true for the two leads' chemistry. The 6.4 IMDb score is accurate.
People go to movies they want to go to. This type of take inspires the response: Go pound sand.
22 million to make the movie and 30 million in marketing to try to get people to go see it? 🤔
To be fair, I don't see *any* movies in theaters because it's not 2003. I plan on watching BrosMovie the very minute it's available to stream.
billyeichner Oh please, cry some more. 🙄
Oh please, cry some more.
I guess all the pedos that wave rainbow flags and march around naked in front of children during June didn’t go either
LMAO I'm queer but i don't give a fuck about such a reductive narrative
**gestures at the weather**
I'm gay. This movie looked shitty.
I think it needed a different leading man.
Who and what?
I feel like it had more to do with the fact that the marketing budget was non existent compared to what many other movies get. Had never heard of the movie or seen an ad prior to Friday. The studio did it dirty.
I dont show up for anything quit playing the victim
Tbf I’m gay and I didn’t show up either. Blame the pandemic, I still don’t go out like that
It was a bad movie
I will see Bros, but I am not ready to head back into a movie theater just yet. I have minor panic attacks when I am in public and someone nearby coughs or sneezes. Being stuck in the dark with strangers for 2 hours?too soon. I like Billy Eichner and the film looks funny!
Because we are waiting to rent it from home!
I've seen more news reports about the bad performance of this movie than I have seen advertisements for the actual movie. Just saying.
Maybe people just don’t want to see two dudes in a relationship as entertaining
Make a better trailer and spend more on marketing. Also maybe not market it as Gay Gay Gay, and then whine when Cis Cis Cis don’t show up. Oh and release your film in the appropriate venue, which is streaming.
I really enjoyed the movie despite not being a fan of Billy Eichner. Having said that romcoms have a limited audience regardless of sexual orientation.
I showed up! 🥰
? ... meets... ?theme is not as popular as it used to be
People saying they didn't see ads for it must be lying. I've seen dozens and dozens of ads over the past 2-3 weeks. The reality is that pretty much no straight guy will watch it, only very Progressive women will, and the rest of its target audience is a small % of the population.
Fox News pretends the entire country is Gay so they can Hate on all Gay Americans but in reality there isn’t even enough gay people to fill a movie theater .
It's a wonderful movie.
Imagine having this take after 'Moonlight' and 'Call Me By Your Name'...
He’s literally trying to blame white straight men bc he made a movie no one wants to see. The need to be seen as a victim is an epidemic in this country.
It received good reviews!
Sounds like not a whole lot of gay people showed up either.
I never saw any advertising on this. I have seen advertising for the new JimParsons 'Spoiler Alert'. Doesn't look like Bros was released everywhere either. Article states played at 3350 locations. That could affect the earnings.
Taylors_Enigma
I didn’t realize we were supposed to? Like, was there some obligation to drop money on a movie I didn’t want to see?
Identity politics are exhausting.
Abbott: Did you see the film, BROS. Costello: Which film bros? Abbott: The one with Billy Eichner. Costello: He's a film bro? Abbott: No, he's in the film, BROS. Costello: He's into film bros? Abbott: No, he's in the film, BROS. Costello: Which film bro? (etc.)
Then don’t make a gay rom-com for straight people…
If it eases his disappointment, I don't show up for any rom-coms.
I went as a straight white male and the theater was packed with people from the queer community. Tons of laughter, some crying. it’s a fantastic and educational movie.
I think in general people like romcoms at home. I'm straight and wanted to see this but then when I heard it's in the theater only I thought I'll just wait till it's streaming
I've never heard of it. I don't care if anything is gay, straight, whatever. The advertising didn't reach me. Is it only in theatres? I don't really do that anymore.
Why would they though? This was a movie very clearly assembled for gay men. It is hard enough getting straight guys to show up for hetero romantic movies, why would anyone expect them to show up for a gay romance?
The only Bros I care about
I’m a straight female and I’ve loved Billy since Parks and Rec. I would go see it, but am consumed/overwhelmed with packing for an upcoming move.
Sorry, we went to 'Moonage Daydream' about Bowie. Gay is boring old hat. Bi is cool.
I’ve never even heard of this movie until just now…
I live in one of the states that was affected by Hurricane Ian. I wouldn’t have been able to go to the theater this weekend. Plus, I knew the movie was to be released soon, but I didn’t realize it was last weekend. 😬
95+% do not appreciate lgbt. It’s dumb marketing to pursue it.
A stigma that still exist with homophobic hetros
Or maybe straight people don’t feel like watching a gay movie. This is perfectly okay. It’s called preference in entertainment choices. I for one hate rom coms, make a gay one and I’m definitely less interested.
I like Billy Eichner, but I'm disappointed his comments have created a negative dialogue around this movie. There just isn't an appetite for romcoms on the big screen. I plan to check it out when it lands on streaming.
Never heard of it
I saw Don’t Worry Darling because I had heard about it. I had no clue what Bros was. Neither did my son who works at the theater. That is poor marketing on their part.
Why would we? There is no reason to see this in theaters, I’ll wait til it’s on a streaming service.
4.8 million, divided by $10 per ticket, means 480k people saw the movie. Blaming “straights” for it’s failure at the box office is disingenuous. Since it’s clear there’s a whole lot of “gays” that didn’t see it either.
Why do I have to see i? I have no doubt it’s a well trod formul movie with predictable scene after scene.
Maybe his tweeting that half the country shouldn't see it had something to do with turnout.
Billy has some nerve
seeing a rom-com, isn't that what Netflix is for?
I’ll see it. Just not in a theater. Not keen on breathing everyone’s germs.
Maybe people just aren't interested.
Broke Back Mountain? A good story, is a good story
People just dont wanna go to the theater anymore. Why would they?
What, he thought that this was going to be a mainstream hit? Rom Coms have a formula, start there.
Who is Billy Eichner?🤔
Billy Eichner has privileges that gay men of colour don't got. I want to see movies with gay men of colour in lead roles. It doesn't happen often.
Consider this: The movie might just be really bad. Plenty of gay themed flicks for decades now that have done just dandy.
Some of us did.
He’s right. Doesn’t interest me.
Imagine whining that nobody cares about your movie by citing the Rolling Stone review, lol
I feel like I’ve seen all the funny parts in the previews. It honestly doesn’t look worth over the $10 I’d spend.
This is the first time I'm seeing anything about it...
I’m sure it’s a very well written story and film… However, as a straight male, I have as much desire to see this movie as I have to see something like, say, Sex in the City.
are we going to forget that the 'Happiest Season' was release in 2020?
I am curious. Is someone “homophobic” because they didn’t rush out to see this movie?
Yeah sorry I didn't spend my one day off going to see a gay rom-com this weekend, fuck me I guess
The trailer looked awful.
Done forget many Democrats are still cautious about Covid and may not be back in theaters yet.
He may have a point. But most romcoms have a “wait for streaming” vibe. Would’ve been helpful for the article to compare box office for other romcoms since covid. With no baseline, can’t really draw conclusions.
Maybe all people that enjoy well written romantic comedies didn't show up because it wasn't well written.
Their entire marketing strategy was basically “it’s every rom-com you’ve ever seen but it’s gay guys.” Riveting stuff that’s definitely worth a $16 ticket.
I don't like 'romance' as a movie genre.
Or…your movie is garbage and no one wants to see it. But that would require you accepting that the world doesn’t accept everything you do as perfect. It must be everyone else’s fault; after all, you’re perfect. What nonsense.
OK. So what?
I know little about him except for a couple, short, toxic, narcissistic clips of him berating and yelling at people for not knowing who he is. I assume for his show. I am projecting but there's likely many of us that don't want to support his brand.
Definitely not interested. I don’t know anyone who is except gays.
Based on the movie title, I thought it was a Barstool Sports documentary on Dave Portnoy.
A movie that panders to a small part of the population, only had a small percent show up? Thats weird.
Shocking! We are force fed woke liberalism & gender dysphoria in every medium daily whether we want to consume it or not. NPR being a solid contributor to woke liberalism fire hose, is it a wonder, that people don't wish to pay to have this shit shoved down our unwilling throats!
Flop
The figures show nobody in the LBGTQ industry showed up either.
I barely know who he is and the guy who plays his partner I only know of because I’ve seen him in my mom’s TV when she watches Hallmark movies. This movie should have been released in June. It’s October Horror is king right now.
Rotten tomatoes is a poor choice to gauge any film . Perhaps it’s just a bad film and has nothing to do with homophobia .
“Billy Eichner says straight people 'just didn't show up for Bros' in its opening weekend.” Because every critic gave it a D minus.
I need an excuse for why it's a bad movie.
It's a rom-com right? I'd say the genre is 10-15 years past it's prime. Who's really bothering to go to a theater experience for a rom com?
Weather on the east coast probably also effected turn out.
Regardless of all other factors here, this kind of reactionary, 'some specific demographic is the reason to blame for my misfortune' is just irritating and off-putting, and, frankly, a little Republican.
Straight people are waiting for it to stream
Is it any wonder
I would see it- I just don’t do theaters and haven’t since before the pandemic
I haven't been to the theaters in a very long time to be fair
Making a movie that caters to the 1% and then are surprised when no one sees it. 😂
the gays either 🤭
I saw the previews in theaters. The straight men I know are too threatened to see a gay movie & I, straightish female, can wait for it to be on cable. Sorry, Bros.
I've seen advertisements for the film. But I think the film ptobably existed in this strange vacuum where the film came off as too gay for straight cis men and perhaps not gay enough for the other side of the audience. Also, as funny as Billy is, him as a lead is a tough sell.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Source: WOKVNews - 🏆 247. / 63 Read more »
Source: ABC - 🏆 471. / 51 Read more »
Source: nbcsandiego - 🏆 524. / 51 Read more »
Source: nbcsandiego - 🏆 524. / 51 Read more »
Source: THR - 🏆 411. / 53 Read more »
Source: billboard - 🏆 112. / 63 Read more »