‘Bros’ Bombs at Box Office
First major, mainstream gay rom-com starring Billy Eichner stumbles out of gate
LGBTQ+ romances are commonplace on screens large and small.
The indie film world teems with gay and lesbian love stories, as does the streaming landscape.
“Bros” is still a different kind of movie for Hollywood. And, based on the initial reception, mainstream audiences aren’t eager to see a rom-com aimed directly at the LGBTQ+ community.
“Bros,” a smart, sophisticated love story starring Billy Eichner, bombed at the box office. The film will earn roughly $4.75 million on more than 3,000 screens for its opening weekend, according to the far-Left Deadline.com.
That puts the film in fourth place behind “Smile,” “Don’t Worry Darling” and “The Women King” – the latter two in their second and third weeks of release, respectively. “Bros” under-performed in the black community (just 6 percent of the total audience) and in the heartland, according to Deadline.
“Bros” boasted plenty of advantages over most rom-coms.
The film’s director, Nicholas Stoller, is well-versed in comedic work (“Forgetting Sarah Marshall,” “Neighbors”). Co-producer Judd Apatow previously delivered hits like “Knocked Up,” “The Big Sick” and “Trainwreck.”
Eichner, who stars in the film and co-wrote the script, lassoed some of Hollywood’s biggest names to help promote the film, including Jack Black and Paul Rudd.
Billy Eichner has returned to the streets, this time with actor Jack Black, to promote his upcoming romantic comedy “Bros,” out in theaters Sept. 30. https://t.co/3CxxLC9nEa
— TheWrap (@TheWrap) September 26, 2022
Plus, “Bros” is smart, sophisticated and brimming with rom-com essentials – colorful supporting players, a strong resolution and credible second act conflicts.
The media gave the film plenty of attention, routinely mentioning its historic nature.
It still delivered horrible numbers for a mainstream release.
Why?
The film’s content may be partly to blame. Most rom-coms don’t deliver hardcore sex scenes, something “Bros” does repeatedly. Eichner’s social media presence is combative, to say the least. His hard-Left politics could have chased some viewers away.
WARNING: ADULT LANGUAGE
FYI. pic.twitter.com/KLu0lka9Sl
— billy eichner (@billyeichner) February 20, 2019
The film’s subplots may also hurt repeat business. The film takes shots at Presidents Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump, and gives a brief shout out to progressive darling Stacey Abrams.
It’s also possible audiences are wary of the culture wars and didn’t want their weekend escapism to remind them of our tribal times.
The film features scenes sure to alarm those who decry “grooming” tactics at the grade school level.
Hollywood, for all its progressive virtue signaling, can be unabashedly conservative when it comes to risk mitigation. The failure of “Bros” to draw a crowd won’t go unnoticed in Tinsel Town.
Brokeback mountain did better…and that was gay
People go to movies to have fun and entertainment, not to be preached to.
The producer should’ve done a survey before they made this movie. They overestimated the interest in the subject matter.
It seems reality slapped them in the face.
Waste of money time and talent.
Conform!! Conform damit!! You must learn to Like hardcore gay sex scenes and bring your spouses with you. Otherwise you’re worse than Trump!!
Great to see they wasted $22 Million making this LGBTQ Propaganda Film. Studio’s will be less likely to finance another woke bomb like this in future. This is great news for average people, as we, are sick and tired of being inundated with this garbage constantly. Who you want to sleep with and how you want to live is your business. Stop trying to force this down people’s throats with your giant ideological shovel, especially impressionable minors. Media, educational institutions, politicial parties and the entertainment industry seem hell bent on not only promoting this but it’s indoctrination into all elements of society. I am not spending my hard earned to finance the probigation of these ideals in society that I don’t agree with.
Movie sucked. Even more than the actors suck lol