Billy Eichner‘s new romcom completely bombed at the box office — and he appears to be chalking it up to homophobia across the country.
The comedian-turned-actor took to Twitter Sunday to acknowledge the low ticket sales — the movie only raked in $4.8 million domestically, placing 4th this weekend — and he’s definitely bummed by the underwhelming turnout … despite the fact the film is objectively solid.
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
@billyeichner
He writes, “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.”
BE also went on to claim that — despite ‘Bros’ being hailed as one of the funniest comedies in recent memory — a theater chain called Universal to say they were pulling the trailer because of the gay content. He says Universal was able to convince them to keep it.
That’s just the world we live in, unfortunately. 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. And that’s disappointing but it is what it is.
— billy eichner (@billyeichner) October 2, 2022
@billyeichner
Billy adds, “That’s just the world we live in, unfortunately. 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. And that’s disappointing but it is what it is.”
His final thought hits his point right on the head … “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’s right about one thing … the movie was positively reviewed by critics and normies alike — so by all accounts, it’s pretty darn good. As for why it did so poorly, it’s hard to say. It was marketed fairly heavily by the studio … with the trailer getting a lot of play in theaters and billboards all around the L.A. area.
It’s pretty clear though … Billy sees it as lingering bigotry. 🤷🏽♂️