Bros’ Billy Eichner blames homophobia for film’s poor box office numbers: ‘It is what it is’
Billy Eichner. (Getty)
Bros writer and star Billy Eichner has blamed the film’s poor box office performance over its opening weekend on rampant homophobia across the US.
The film, which was projected to earn between $8 to $10 million in its first weekend, has only hit the $4.8 million mark, underperforming against Universal’s predictions.
Despite favourable reviews, it seems the new rom-com starring an all LGBTQ+ main cast and central queer plot line hasn’t resonated with the masses as expected.
Taking to twitter, Eichner wrote a thread in response to the disappointing numbers, saying: “Last night I snuck in and sat in 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.”
Last night I snuck in and sat in 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. It was truly magical. Really. I am VERY proud of this movie.— billy eichner (@billyeichner) October 2, 2022
Calling the experience “truly magical”, he explained that Rolling Stone had included Bros as one of the “best comedies of the 21st century”.
However, he had also received calls from a theatre chain wanting to pull the movie due to “gay content” and they were convinced not to by Universal Studios.
“That’s just the world we live in, unfortunately,” he continued, “even with glowing reviews, great Rotten Tomato scores, an A CinemaScore etc, straight people, especially in certain parts of the country, just didn’t show up for Bros. And that’s disappointing but it is what it is.”
The film has indeed reached a 91 per cent rating on Rotten Tomatoes and positive comments from people across the industry including Elizabeth Gillies, James Gunn and Mariah Carey.
Bros has already had to suffer being bombed with negative reviews from homophobes, plummeting its IMDb score, before it was even released in cinemas. The reviews has since been scrubbed.
He finished the thread encouraging non-homophobes to go watch the movie and added: “It is special and uniquely powerful to see this particular story on a big screen, especially for queer folks who don’t get this opportunity often.”
Eichner has previously opened up about his struggles with entering the industry, saying that at the beginning of his career he was dubbed “too gay” to appear on screen.
