After launch weekend takings that some entertainment experts labeled “dismal”, gay rom-com Bros failed to rebound on its second weekend.
The $22 million-budget movie, written and starring Billy Eichner, opened in just over 3,300 theatres last weekend, but only took $4.8million.
Over its second weekend, it remained on over 3,000 screens. However, it took $2.1million. This represents a 55% drop from its first weekend, despite near-unanimously positive reviews.
By comparison, last weekend’s number one movie, the horror flick Smile, stayed atop the box office, taking $17.6million. This was just a 22% drop on its opening weekend takings of $22.6million.
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Bros has now dropped from four to eight in the box office top ten.
Related: Billy Eichner responds to “dismal” box office for ‘Bros’ on its opening weekend
Amsterdam tanks hard
If its makers are feeling despondent, they’re probably not feeling as blue as the team behind Amsterdam. Led by writer/director David O. Russell, and starring Christian Bale, Margot Robbie and John David Washington, with support from Rami Malek, Taylor Swift and Robert DeNiro), the $80 million historical drama took just $6.5 million. With generally poor reviews amongst critics and audiences, it’s looking set to be one of the year’s biggest flops.
In total, including weekday viewings, Bros has now taken around $9 million. On a more positive note, it’s not yet opened anywhere beyond the US, with launches due soon in the UK and elsewhere.
One of the reasons put forward for the movie’s failure is its lack of A-list stars. However, at a panel event at the New Yorker Festival last week, Eichner defended casting an LGBTQ cast in all the lead roles.
“We could have easily thrown Chris Evans into the Luke McFarland role” he said, reported Deadline. “But we didn’t because for us it was important to give a number of openly LGBT actors a chance to star in a movie even though they weren’t movie stars.”
Related: Meghan McCain gloats over Billy Eichner’s movie, Bros, failing at box office
Also on the panel was Harvey Fierstein, who has a brief role in the movie. Fierstein said that the studio behind Bros, Universal, pushed the “historic” nature of the movie too hard in the marketing.
“I mean, ‘Is this a history lesson or a movie?’,” he said. “I didn’t think it was really smart, I think sometimes, you have to let the audience find you. Let them discover you, let them fall in love with you. Because the movie is too good. … It’s just really human, and had the audience been allowed to find it on their own, I think they would have easier.”
Eichner pushed back slightly against this, praising Universal for its support and saying, “There wasn’t much of a blueprint for this movie when it came to the marketing and all of that.”
cuteguy
What is wring with Billy Eichnerr?! When did Chris Evans ever say he would’ve done this movie? Billy should just accept he failed and stop bringing other ppl into this.
Cam
Dying to see just how many of it’s screenames the same old right wing troll brings in to attack openly LGBTQ celebs and a movie done by them.
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phillycap
Yeah. The guy was giving an example of an a list star. Not saying he could have signed him. Lord people leap to ridiculous conclusions on here. It’s. An. Example.
cuteguy
@Cam tell your doctor that your dementia medication is not working. Unlike you, I have a full time job and actual life to bother to make up any other screen names. Seriously Cam, get help. Just in case your dementia kicks in again, you know how many times I’ve attacked MAGA and have compared the GQP to the KKK or the Nazi Party?! And I always refer to Faux News as such bc that’s the real fake news that Trumpf referred. I just hope when I become an octogenarian like you in 50 years I am not a grumpy old man like you obviously seem to be. Go get laid Cam, invest in viagra and a desperate prostitute so you can stop being so miserable
LunaSol2010
Reality check. We failed him and ourselves. If lgbtq $ at box office were 35% gay men only it would be grossing $30 million already. Its a disgrace to blame anyone but our lazy ass selves. If we ever want big gay themed casts we have to show up! And we are not showing up. Gay men are lower audience numbers than our grasp allows, straight women.
Diplomat
Replace Luke with Evans? Wow was he off on that remark. If he would have replaced himself w Evans it would have been a runaway hit. Eichner’s self importance and lack of vision regarding him as a lead destroyed this possibly great movie.
dbmcvey
He didn’t fail. He made a really good movie. Box office has nothing to do with quality.
Cam
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phillycap
Yeah. Not too insightful are you. The whole premise was a nebbishly neurotic dude finding himself falling for someone who he’d thought would never give him a second look added to the fact that he prejudged that gorgeous men are himbos all. Granted Luke’s character is a bit of a unicorn in real life. But it’s a rom com.
Laughing Reader
This movie could have been much better. It didn’t seem realistic at all. I wanted to like it but only liked Luke McFarlane. All those museum board scenes made me cringe. It’s embarrassing some people will come away with the impression that is what gay life is like.
Bigboaster
Harvey Fierstein’s comments were spot on tbh, Eichner is beyond out of touch with regular people unfortunately.
Also I hate that he doesn’t even consider HIS role being recast at all, his ego is far too much lol
Cam
Except Harvey didn’t say that at all. He said the movie studio pushed that aspect too hard.
cuteguy
Exactly, Eichner allowed his narcissism to ruin the film’s chances. If he wasn’t going to recast himself with an A list star to help generate buzz, he should’ve pushed for this film to be streamed so they could’ve claimed success like Fire Island did. I truly hope that this doesn’t stop Hollywood from producing more LGBTQ+ films. I do applaud Eichner’s effort to have an all open lgbtq cast but unfortunately the gamble didn’t pay off, like it did for the Asian community with Crazy Rich Asians. I think they need to stop forcing only lgbtq actors to play lgbtq roles. It’s not fair to lgbtq actors, who will be restricted to only certain roles, and to the movie going public. Tom Hanks recently said he would not do the movie Philadelphia if it was offered to him today. Brendan Fraser is getting pushback by some mean girls in the lgbtq community and it’s possibly hindering his comeback. I do however hope that lgbtq actors like Luke McFarlane gets offered more roles, whether it’s straight or gay or bi. That’s why up and coming young actors like Kit Connor from the hit show Heartstopper is reluctant to reveal his sexuality, whatever it may be. If he turns out to be straight he will be accused of queer baiting and if turns out to be lgbtq, it will hurt his chances in mainstream roles. He reportedly wants to be part of Marvel Universe but there are currently no openly lgbtq actors leading a MCU franchise. That needs to change and needs to be addressed
ZzBomb
I don’t think it’s a lack a A-list stars, people just don’t go to theaters anymore to see a rom-com anymore. This isn’t the 90’s. I’m def renting it when it comes out on streaming and if I like it, I’ll buy it.
RoughRugger
See…yeah. That’s EXACTLY the point I keep making. By & large, rom-coms are NOT a genre that’s EVER tended to post blockbuster box-office numbers, even pre-Covid & pre-streaming. You might get the rare lightning-in-a-bottle like My Big Fat Greek Wedding, but beyond that, the audiences have tended toward consisting largely of girl-night hen-parties, a few gay men, and a couple of miserable straight guys whose wives/gf’s dragged them there.
Now that streaming is so prevalent, it’s only logical that even fewer would shell out $15-20 bucks plus dealing with theater hassle & concession prices for a movie that derives little/no benefit from a big-screen treatment. I’m perfectly happy to wait a month or two for it to drop to one of the streaming services I’m already paying for.
man5996853
I like Billy Eichner’s comedy but he certainly isn’t for everyone. And I thoroughly enjoyed Bros. I don’t, however, think you are going to increase ticket sales by blaming everyone for their homophobia. This was a niche film and, contrary to what he and others have been claiming for the last week, there wasn’t a ton of cross-over appeal and I’m not surprised that straight allies didn’t rush out to see it. This movie was written for a gay audience. The casting was for a gay audience. And Billy Eichner’s appeal is limited to an even smaller segment of the gay audience.
I wish that it had done better and I hope that others aren’t deterred from making mainstream films with gay leads but he didn’t make a film or cast actors in that film that were ever going to reach beyond the smaller audience for which it was intended. Again, loved the movie. Loathe the excuses.
G R
Agree 100%, this is a niche film (LONG overdue!) and I think one of two of Eichner’s mistakes was A. Casting himself in the lead opposite Luke and 2. His scolding of those that this film doesn’t appeal to for not going. Bad form and it’s not going to help your situation.
phillycap
Again he has never called people homophobic. He just thought that people would be interested in seeing a funny rom com regardless of the fact it’s two dudes. What is more accurate though is that the str8 world is more comfortable in viewing gay people asexually. They are funny, stylish. But we have to view them as never actually being sexual beings.
RoughRugger
He may not’ve used the actual phrasing that “people who didn’t come see this film are homophobes!” but that was CERTAINLY the implication…and pretty damn few people respond positively to being scolded and tarred/feathered.
BigRedEO
Saw it yesterday. It was just a bad movie. There was no “rom” and very little “com.” The only thing I found funny were the spoofs of the Hallmark Channel. Billy’s character was just an a-hole and not likeable. I didn’t understand why Luke ‘s character was the one who needed to apologize, when Billy’s character was rude and didn’t stop.
Billy is too busy blaming everyone except himself for what he wrote.
Rikki Roze
You clearly did not understand the character played by Billy Eichner. Even though you couldn’t see yourself in this character he represented the feelings of many gay men of a certain age and life experience. It was a well written character and Mr. Eichner did a good job of bringing it to life.
Sister Bertha Bedderthanyu
I just watched the trailer and everything I saw in it made me happy that I’ve left ALL of it behind years ago. The bar pickups and trying to break thru gay organizer events that although they had to open their meetings to the public because they received public funds they were clearly a closed klan as far as advice from others. The old guy out on the dance floor with the ripped body took me back to the days of NYC and Bally’s in the early 00’s when I would see people whom I knew from the days of the Mine Shaft and the Anvil working out like they were still in their twenties and praying everyone would believe they are only in their late thirties, dyed hair and all. Thanks for posting this article because I leave it feeling really good about myself and the decisions that I made.
MacAdvisor
Bros is a fun rom-com for gay men, but the idea a bunch of straight people, particularly straight men, would want to see a film that is the single most explicit film about gay male sex that I’ve seen this side of an XXX film is ludicrous. Of course straight people didn’t go see it. Cutting about five minutes out of the film, eliminating the very explicit sex scenes, which I would greatly miss, would have helped the film achieve far wider popularity. The movie was a wish-list of things gay men wish could have happened, but never really would. The dinner scene with the parents was a total cringe and would have the Eichner character dropped and dropped hard. It would not have been in any way Macfarlane’s characters fault. I like the movie, enjoyed it, but would NEVER take a straight friend to it.
moneyplnatia
Agree 100%, this is a niche film…
Rich85
I saw the film last week and it was okay, but certainly not great. There are several genuinely funny moments, but just as many are cringeworthy. None of the characters seemed like real human beings at all. The museum board is made up of a bunch of cartoon characters and stereotypes and I found Billy Eichner’s character far more annoying than lovable. The two leads don’t seem like they are actually in love, or ever would be. I live in L.A. surrounded by straight people who have many gay friends, but I can’t imagine why they would ever need to see this film any more than I would have any interest in the latest J Lo or Jennifer Anniston straight rom com. Give me season 2 of “Heartstoppers” for real chemistry and charm and not perpetuating that gay men are just 24/7 horndogs looking for anonymous sex.
Rikki Roze
It’s interesting how some gay men love to hate what other gay men create. did you even see the film? The character played by Billie Eichner totally represented those of us in the gay community who look for gay characters who aren’t “just 24/7 horndogs looking for anonymous sex.” That’s what this character was all about! Thank you Mr. Eichner for giving us this character.
lessthan
I love Luke Macfarlane and wanted to see this, but I thought this was coming to streaming and was caught off guard when the movie came out. I’ll probably try to see it next weekend, but I hate this “theater only” trend.
Sundance614
I’m torn because I *really* wanted to like it. I echo most of these other comments. The whole museum thing as a plot device seemed odd and not very relatable. (And, was Bobby supposedly famous, since people approached him at dinner wanting selfies with him?). The Bobby character was not sympathetic at all—meeting someone and the first thing you say is “I hear you’re boring” is just meanness for the sake of meanness (granted, I realize they were trying to establish that jaded & bitter angle, but still). It’s weird, but I think the trailers were actually better edited than the move—for instance there’s a line in the trailer (which I’ve been seeing for months at this point) where Bobby says “he’s like a gay Tom Brady, and I’m like whatever happens to Evan Hanson” which is actually a pretty funny line. However, in the movie those are two different lines said at different times. It worked better in the trailer.
Neoprene
Even gay dudes are meh about this film. Too funny given all the hype.
Cam
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Neoprene
Gays being “meh” about this film constitutes an attack? LOL!
cuteguy
@Neoprene
Don’t take offense from the crabby old man Cam. He’s sick and needs medical attention. Or the number of a prostitute. Or both. Or maybe he just needs his diaper changed. Dunno. But ur right. Some of my lgbtq buddies said the same thing, at least the ones that have seen it. Personally I’m waiting for it to be available to stream. Until then I’m withholding judgment. Luke MacFarlane is hot though.
Doug
I saw it yesterday and really enjoyed it. I’m in San Francisco and the the Sunday late afternoon showing was sold out except for the front two rows in the auditorium. It was a mixed crowd, straight and gay, and people laughed a lot during the film. What I really liked about it was that Eichner wasn’t afraid to poke fun at the gay community, something I haven’t seen a gay film do before, and some of those scenes were very funny.
seven5tx
Not that familiar with Eichner but so far not a fan. Is he channeling a Noah Galvin moment?
As a gay man I don’t watch straight romance movies unless there is some kind of hook. My Big Fat Greek Wedding etc.
EIchner complaint about homophobia is bull. Girl needs to realize he just is not as relevant as she convinced herself she is. I did not vote for him to represent me as a gay man. He’s pulling a Rosie O’Donell about being in charge of all the gays.
That movie should not have been released in theaters.
The TV movie “The Thing About Harry” was excellent and touted as the first made for tv gay rom com. I really enjoyed it.
Have not seen Bros yet. After what I heard and my turn off for Eichner I am in no big hurry.
Cam
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toddlicious
We are such a hateful self loathing community. The movie wasn’t that bad. It isn’t meant to be an epic, Oscar worthy flick. It’s meant to be a gay movie with an over arching gay theme. I am currently in a relationship much like the one depicted in the movie and it hit home with me. Any of these hateful gays, hating on this movie that say it’s not realistic… WHAT ROM COM IS??? Billy eichner saying he could have put Chris Evans in the movie was him reiterating the fact that they cast an all lgbtq cast. I think it’s terrible that more of the community didn’t support this movie and probably went to the awful, stupid Halloween concept horror movie instead.
dbmcvey
I would say the movie is really good.
Terrycloth
A better script , well known actors , tighten the editing and shortent the length may have saved this…why was Billy in this again ? No redeeming value to the movie was added by having him as one of the leads. Should of had the writers of Will and Grace write the script would of been funnier..Sean Hayes would have been a better replacement for Billy
cuteguy
Sean Hayes was hilarious as Jack and when he guest hosted for Jimmy Kimmel. But they needed a Chris Evans or Chris Hemsworth or Ryan Gosling to have replaced Billy Eichner but Billy’s ego wouldn’t have allowed it and he hurt the lgbtq community as a whole by doing so. Luke MacFarlane should’ve remained bc he’s hot hot hot and am looking forward to seeing him when the film is available for streaming. Billy Eichner was looking for his moment like Kristen Wiig had with Bridesmaids but it didn’t come to fruition. Hopefully he will get a writing Oscar nomination like she did bc the reviews are mostly positive. The only thing that can hurt his chances is the negative press being generated over the less than stellar box office numbers.
dbmcvey
It’s a really good movie. There is nothing wrong with the casting.
It’s October, probably not the best time to release a romantic comedy.
Romantic comedies haven’t done well at the box office for years. If you look at the highest earning romantic comedies the newest ones were from more than a decade ago.
Billy Eichner made a really good movie and he should be proud of that.
vancouverdoug
Ugh. This is why we can’t have nice things. Who said Billy Eichner the person or character was supposed to be “likable”? Did you root for Tom Hanks when he was ruining Meg Ryan’s store and dreams in “You got Mail”? As someone who met his one and only true love in his late 30’s I related to his character. Didn’t necessarily like him, but I didn’t need to since I thought it was a great film.
overitreally
First of all billy isn’t funny. At all. He also is not good looking nor photographable (I E mark walburg. Adam driver. Norman Reedus and Daniel Craig. ) all faces for radio. T second he’s not an actor. Go away.
LAGuy
Has anyone considered that maybe people don’t like Eichner or his comedy routine? Or the ridiculous statement that this was the first big budget gay rom com? Or maybe the plausibility that he could ever snag someone like Luke? He’s stuck with a Hollywood mentality. Most gay folks stream or rent their content and we dont care who produces it. There have been plenty of great quality movies. Has he never been to an LGBTQ+ film festival? Even Netflix and Hulu have a good selection. I think everyone overestimated this. Should have been a theater/streaming opening and they would have probably at least recouped their costs.
SDR94103
homophobia rules America.
LumpyPillows
Nah. Let’s face it, it’s not a topic most straight people want to go see. Doesn’t make them homophobic, just makes them boring.
Cam
The people saying more well known actors should be cast are falling into the Hollywood trap. THey won’t cast openly LGBTQ actors because they’re bigots, then they use the excuse that there are no big name openly LGBTQ actors out there.
Neoprene
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ShiningSex
No big names openly gay??? Where do you live??? Greenland?
There are a lot of closeted big stars too like Tom Cruise, John Travolta, but they’re not good actors.
A film doesn’t need big actors to make money. “Smile” made a lot and doesn’t have someone huge in it. Although it looks like a terrible film, I prefer more entertaining horror that recent crap out there.
Bros was a good film, but it’s not for everyone. End of story. I hate rom-coms but this seem ore anti-rom-com and was funny.
DennisMpls
Wow, I’m really, really surprised by all the negativity in the comments section. (Of course, this IS a Queerty comment section.) Critics have overwhelmingly given positive reviews. It’s interesting that audience reviews on Metacritic are much lower, but then again many of those are homophobic, e.g., “The movie is perverse and distasteful. The forcing of a chosen lifestyle that is held by few people is made to look as if it is normal.” However, I see that audience reviews on Rotten Tomatoes are at 90% positive. I also don’t understand the hate for Billy Eichner or his character, or the idea that he somehow doesn’t “fit” with Luke MacFarlane. ScreenDaily lauded “the dynamite chemistry between co-writer Billy Eichner and Luke Macfarlane.”
I have yet to see the movie, but the trailer is great, and definitely makes me want to see it. I do think it’s sort of a niche movie, and that straight guys aren’t likely to go. I recall, though, that a large percentage of the audience for the U.S. version of “Queer As Folk” was straight women. I have no issue with Eichner being really disappointed in the box office so far. When you put that much work and passion into something I don’t know how you could not feel that way.
BTW, Eichner recently did his first “Billy On the Street” in 3 years, and had Paul Rudd along with him. I thought it was funny as he and Paul tried to whip up support for the movie from people on the street.
ericdf1
Jeez! Could we beat this movie up any harder? Did anyone seriously think it would open like Brokeback Mountain? It was a cute movie, it was very IN YOUR FACE GAY, it didn’t feature an A-list cast, and the preceding media hype was probably (was definitely) heavy handed. Furthermore, it opened against a horror film at the beginning of the Halloween season, as well as ‘Don’t Worry Darling’, and ‘Woman King’, featuring the likes of Harry Styles and Viola Davis. That said, it opened in fourth place, and even after it’s follow-up weekend it’s still one of the top 10 movies – AND ‘Amsterdam’, one of the most highly anticipated films of the season went down like the Hindenburg! It’s still got another week or two to go, and then with international release, streaming, rentals and DVD sales, they’ll no doubt make their money back and then some. All things considered, I don’t think it did all that bad. So why all the sackcloth and ashes? Did anyone really think it was going to walk-away with the box office?
ChrisSoBe
It was a funny movie and I loved it. Too many people on here are complaining about Eichner and his role, but he fit the role. What people can’t seem to get is that it’s a comedy! It’s not meant to be completely “relatable” to everyone. It’s OK to make fun of the LGBT community. Yes, there was chemistry between Eichner and MacFarlane Yes, there were lines that only a gay man might find funny and yes, there were scenes that people would “like” to believe would turn off straight people, but that’s not necessarily true either. It wasn’t aimed to be for the stereotypical evangelical homophobe in Alabama. I saw it again last night. The first time was with a heterosexual female friend who loved it and last night I saw with my older hetero married brother and he LAUGHED at the scene where the they panned out to see Luke MacFarlane getting a bj from two men. If you’re comfortable in your skin, you see it for what it was…a funny scene. From the comments on here, some people have the very same uptightness that they criticize Eichner for having. Sure, Eichner didn’t have to blame homophobes for the less than expected audience numbers, but my brother said he’d recommend it, so I do believe it will make its money back and then some once all the dust settles.
Bertram
I cancelled a dental appointment to go see the movie with my neighbor. Wish I went to the dentist instead.
ShiningSex
I wish you did too.
I enjoyed it, so who cares about your opinion or your teeth. LOL
Charlie in Charge
It was… sort of funny. There were cute moments. I understand Billy Eichner’s character isn’t supposed to start out as likable – that’s the character arc of this kind of thing. But his character had just a few too many whiny monologues for me and he seemed determined to torpedo the relationship beyond what I thought was repairable.
I felt like the movie’s timing was off as well. I would have been much more enthusiastic about watching this in June than October.
Rikki Roze
I wish those who wrote comments here knew how to distinguish between their personal and often limited by age, experience and lifestyle, opinions and something presented as “the” truth.
As an audience member, I don’t really care how well or poorly this film did at the box office. It’s not the kind of film that would have mass appeal. It won’t have appeal (or even be understood) by a part of the gay community and the majority of str8 people I know wouldn’t get it at all. Like most films, it appeals to a certain and limited audience. And that’s ok.
In my opinion, Mr. Eichner has written a sensitive, funny and thought provoking film. Many of us are able to personally relate to both of the main characters. Can we cool it with the criticism that this film isn’t everything to everyone who sees it? Which film is?
I laughed and cried through the film and that’s a lot more than I can say for most films I see. I cared about the characters. I could see myself in most of them and was at least interested in the views of the other characters. Thank you Mr. Eichner, for giving us a film that shows characters who, with all of their strengths and weaknesses , we can be proud to identify with. I look forward to your next film.
DK
You write that it’s okay that this film doesn’t appeal to everyone, but then yet you keep complaining that people don’t like the film. Make up your mind. No film is above criticism. Every film has been criticized since movie first started being released. This movie is not going to get special treatment.
Billy Eichner is not above criticism, the character he played in the film is not about criticism, the films itself is not above criticism. And yes that’s okay. So get over it. Not everyone is going to share your opinion. Some liked the film, some don’t. Some are interested in seeing it, some are not. The fans of Bros (including Billy Eichner) need to live with that and stop whining and complaining.
edensasp
I personally have not been to the theaters since Oct 2019… I am still not ready to jump back into the social cesspool of communicable diseases & ignorant super spreaders anywhere, much less in an enclosed environment for two +/- hours. I am sure I am not the only one that didnt go for this simple reason alone.
calvinsmelliott
I didn’t see this because BE was the star. I don’t care for his comedy and don’t find him entertaining.
OCandPS
Just saw it last night and really enjoyed it. However I don’t see any way this movie would appeal to the mainstream audience. Eichner really needs to take a reality check on who is going to most of the movies. Plus more people would rather stream it on their schedule.
baggins435
Maybe it’s my age. I’m a 60-something gay dude and the only reason I didn’t walk out of the movie after 10 minutes was I rode with someone else. I don’t care about Eichner’s looks, but his character was so DAMN annoying he ruined the movie for me. I could not for the life of me see why anyone, much less McFarlane’s character, would ever spend time with him. I’m a man who is gay. Being gay is not the be all, end all of my existence. McFarlane was the saving grace of this movie. I would love to meet a guy like his character; Eichner’s could get hit by a truck and I wouldn’t care. The whole museum plot was lost on me, nothing about it seemed remotely realistic, and the “board meetings” were laughable more than being funny. No straight person will get anything from it, the gays I know found it cringe worthy, and it certainly feeds the right wing perception of meaningless hook-ups. I mean, the first group sex scene was funny because it was unexpected, the second was just in your face. The plot tropes were beat to death and beyond. Sometimes, less is more. Personally, I think future LGBTQ themed movies will have an even more difficult time getting made after this.
surfnspy
I feel the exact same way! He’s an obnoxious narcissist. Is that redundant?
FreddieW
I pretty much agree with you, but I thought the saving grace of the movie was Debra Messing.
LumpyPillows
I just assumed it was a streaming movie. I will watch it when it streams, but it isn’t the kind of movie I would go out of my way to go to a theater to see.
I think Billy is funny and I find him attractive. I mean, I would date him. None of that has to do with the character he plays in a movie. I mean I do assume the actors are acting.
Shame we can’t get behind a gay project. Always have to be the nasty queens with something evil to say. I don’t like people like that.
metta
I saw it last night. It was okay. The acting was fine. The cast was fine. To be honest, I have never really been big on rom coms because you usually know how it ends before watching it. Same with this.
When I see the Universal Studios logo on it I know to not expect too much. If I was asked to give advice about how to make this movie I would say work more on the writing. But then again, I’m not your typical mainstream movie goer.
Seeing the trailers of movies coming soon it surprises me that those other projects are even funded. People have so many other entertainment options, you would think that studios would make sure that they choose movies that will stand out, be memorable, and entertaining. But maybe that is not important to movie goers. I really don’t know.
bachy
I’ve been trying to make time to see it but haven’t managed yet. But I will say that everybody – I mean absolutely everybody – is talking about it! And the opinions range from love-love-love it to hate-hate-hate it.
That phenomenon – a wide divergence of opinion – is actually considered a major indicator of viral success in the sphere of social media. For instance, someone like Kim Kardashian evinces a wide divergence of opinion – and look how successful she is!
I’m not sure how, but this fact could be leveraged to engage more viewers.
[email protected]
Bottom line is that straight people aren’t interested in a “ gay” movie no matter how liberal they are. They aren’t interested in relating to gay people’s relationships. If you want to have financial success, you should make a movie where a gay character or issue is relatable to straight people too…see Tom Hanks in Philadelphia or Robin Williams in Birdcage. Both box office hits with gay characters and actors and gay issues.
jthomasmpls
I did not see Bros, good chance I won’t. Maybe I will stream it in the future but my current watch lists are pretty long. Why haven’t I seen Bros?
1) I don’t know who Billy Eichner is. I looked him up, he hasn’t really done anything big that wasn’t voice work. That’s not a criticism of his talent, he is just not a well known mainstream personality.
2) I hadn’t seen anything about Bros until Eichner started complaining about Bros performance and reasons why it was underperforming (that did not compel me to see it)
3) I looked at a couple list of the top rom coms, I have seen many of them but rom coms are not my preferred gene
4) I have not seen a Rom Com in a theater in 20 years
5) Since 1995 rom coms are the 7th highest box office grossing genres, 1/6th of the top grossing genre.
6) Niche movie, less than 10% of the Us population identifies at LGBTQ.
7) I am not homophobic, I am a bisexual man.
How did Bros preform compared to Top Gun Maverick? Poorly. Although Bros is the second highest grossing rom com in 2022 so in its genre its doing pretty well.
I my opinion, much ado about nothing. Although Much Ado About Nothing is pretty funny!
ShiningSex
Rom-com films are boring but this one was sort of a laugh at Rom-Coms in my opinion. It actually was good. Not knowing the actors is not a good reason to NOT see it. Who cares? If it looks good, I’ll watch. I prefer films with lesser known actors anyways. Why the comparison to Top Gun Maverick by a CLOSETED actor. that looks like garbage.
jthomasmpls
@ShinningSex please see numbers one & two. Never heard for him or his movie. I don’t think I am alone. The point is that may be a contributing factors to Billy Eichner’s disappointment. Not that it’s a bad movie, I just don’t think he or the movie has had much exposure to the mainstream movie goers.
Why compare it to Top Gun Maverick? Because it is the number one grossing movie of 2022, by a lot. See number 5. Since 1995, Rom Coms generate a fraction of gross sales that Adventure or Actions movie, the top two genres. Nine of the top 10 grossing movies of 2022 are Action or Adventure movies. Like it or not, that’s what the movie goer wants. Compared to other Rom Com’s in 2022, after just a couple weeks, Bros is doing really well!
What does a closeted actor have to do with anything?
billygoat
It’s a wonderful movie and will rake in money when it streams.
surfnspy
I don’t believe that casting a “name” in the co-lead would have made a difference. I just saw the film and didn’t find it funny at all. Consistent with Eichner’s abrasive Billy on the Street persona, he was frantic, self-righteous, and obnoxious. I didn’t find the movie even slightly funny and reacted the way many of the people do when he hurricanes into them–I had the impulse to run the other way.
I really didn’t care for him in the role. Perhaps he needs to see that he might be part of the problem and stop blaming others.
ShiningSex
It was a funny film. I enjoyed it, but it’s not for everyone and I think he wanted it to be. It wasn’t.
It’s SO worth seeing for those that haven’t.
“Amsterdam” on the other hand looked boring as f*ck.
FreddieW
I thought Macfarlane was just fine, and it didn’t bother me that he wasn’t Chris Evans. It was Eichner’s character I didn’t like.
Buddy
I love this movie. I’ve seen it twice and plan to see it again!
TedV
I enjoyed the movie very much, but I think Eichner was wrong to cast himself in it. I don’t care for him or his humor, but was able to get past him. But to a lot of people, including gay men, he’s a definite no-thanks. For me, his comedy crosses from acerbic to just plain mean far too often to be funny, and, well, he’s just not someone I think of as a romantic leading man.
DK
Eichner is too close to it all right now to admit Fierstein is right. So many marketing problems:
1) Released too widely instead of allowing buzz to build.
2) Released at wrong time of year.
3) Focused too much on the historic nature (when it’s not all that historic, there’s been studio-made gay roms).
4) Leaving McFarlane’s pretty face off the poster.
5) Failed to lock down its core community first: title “Bros” alienated wide demos of the community, who already were wary about spending two hours with the types of white fit masc4masc gay bros who have socially segregated themselves from other gays. Contrast this with how Drag Race was allowed to be big with the gays *before* it crossed over to the mainstream.
6) And it also alienated straights with taglines like “Straights had a good run, it’s over.” Who thought that was a good idea?
Bros should have started in a limited release to built buzz among gays first. A wide release for a niche film with not-yet-bankable starts during Spooky Season was unwise.
But the main problem is Billy Eichner. He has built a persona on being irritating and annoying. Even if the character is a jerk, rom-com actors must have core likeability under the surface. Eichner just does not have that, no matter how much his fans don’t want to admit it. Yes, he should have put his ego aside and replaced himself with a likable, bankable star (maybe even a straight-ally actor of color) to play opposite McFarlane. That would have helped broaden this movie’s audience appeal while still moving the gay community forward. Sorry that some can’t admit this. But truth hurts.
Prax07
Sorry Billy, but You couldn’t pay me to go see this in a theater or basically anywhere. As a gay man I’m just not interested at all
cuteguy
Uh oh, that nut job Cam will now accuse you of being a right wing troll on here soon enough bc you had the audacity to have your own opinion. And apparently we are the same person (according to his crazy mind) who are using different screen names. Unlike you I will see it but only when it’s avail to stream but this is America and it’s your prerogative to not see it.
Toofie
Critics loved it. Most audiences enjoyed it. It just didn’t click with the general public. Like mentioned above, it should’ve had a limited release schedule to create buzz. Throwing it on 3,000 screens wasn’t the best strategy. But also there have been several bigger budget films released in the last few weeks that did poorly (Amsterdam with it’s 80-100 million budget won’t reach $20 million total).
Jake123
This film won’t do well in the Uk and Europe. Most of us have never heard of Eichner and to be honest our depictions of Gay life and love are way more exciting and interesting than another one by a loud mouth white American.
cuteguy
Honestly as an American, not really a fan of stuffy British films or television. So it was a compete shock to me that I became almost obsessed with Heartstopper and it’s lead Kit Connor who I’ve never heard of before. But unlike with this film, the producers of Heartstopper were smart enough to use a streaming service and it gave a positive light to the lgbtq community. Finally a lgbtq that was family friendly and very well produced. Also a fan of Elite but that one is more NSFW. I just hope Hollywood continues to produce quality lgbtq movies and television programs.
M
Oooh look another movie staring two white gay men. Like florals in spring, groundbreaking
jshamwow
Honestly it’s just not that good of a movie. Billy Eichner is not a talented enough actor to be a leading man in this part. He doesn’t have the nuance to pull it off. It’s also far too long (at least 20 minutes could’ve been cut), a bit too pompous with its own self-awareness.
Does it have some virtues? Yes. Many. Some parts were absolutely hilarious. The cameos from Bowen and Messing were fun. It has a good overall message.
What was best about it was that it was a GAY film and what I mean is that it exposed aspects of gay life and culture that straight people rarely see. That was refreshing–gay love created for gay audiences. But I can’t imagine a straight audience wanting to see it, enjoying it, or even really understanding it. So instead of $22 million, it should’ve been a $5 film