I can’t say that I’m happy with how the movie performed. It is very strange just because the movie is so much fun. And as someone who makes comedies for movie theaters—or did until, I guess, this weekend—I love seeing comedies in movie theaters, and people do. It’s almost like people don’t know what’s good for them. I’ve screened the film a lot of times now, and it always screens really well. As I was joking with a friend of mine, it’s an entertainment delivery system. There’s a lot of things going on as to why it might not have done as well as we all hoped. But I really like it. I don’t know what to say! It’s just super confusing.
We got the data back. Gay men are the only people who saw the movie. It’s not like [Billy Eichner] said something that was a lie or incorrect. I think the industry has trained people to not go to the theaters for comedy. But I also think people saw it and thought, “That story’s not my story. Why would I go see that?” And they will slowly discover it because that’s what’s happened with most of the movies I’ve directed, with the exception of Neighbors, is people discover it as it gets out in the world. I think a lot of people are still afraid to go to theaters and a lot of people will get it on streaming.”— Bros director Nicholas Stoller speaking to The Hollywood Reporter about the film’s disappointing box office numbers and the backlash to Billy Eichner‘s assertion that “straight people” didn’t support it.
RELATED: So how did Bros do over its second weekend at the box office?
EducatedOtter
As funny and cute as the movie might be-
Maybe I’ll wait for it to be streaming before i watch it instead of spending $8 to see it. Maybe i know in the real world that Luke would NEVER end up with Billy (at least not in a monogamous relationship). Maybe they shouldn’t have marketed it as a gay statement movie. Maybe we’re insulted that a gay man is slumming playing a gay man when we know his bills are paid by all of the Hallmark movies he’s done playing straight. Maybe we just don’t care about this movie?
CatholicXXX
$8? Where the f- do you live? it’s $15 where I live.
Truth is, no one goes to see these movies. People are only going to theaters to watch spidermans and other generic hero movies. Rom-coms are dead.
Bigboaster
Your remark regarding McFarlane being a Hallmark actor for years is totally pointless to this discussion and very ignorant.
rray63
Gosh, I have to ask. If it’s not okay for a gay man to play straight, is it equally bad for a gay to play a straight. Be careful of your words, sometimes they might bite us in the behind.
Grrrowler
The more the people involved with the movie talk about it, the less inclined I am to see it. I didn’t care about the movie before Eichner’s and Fierstein’s comments, but now I’m certain I won’t be seeing it. It’s as if there’s a giant sense of entitlement surrounding this film, which is very off-putting.
GlobeTrotter
That’s the problem in today’s ultra-woke society, isn’t it? Gay movies for gay people, Asian movies for Asian people, Trans movies for Trans people, etc. If you’re gay, you’re now automatically supposed to support gay actors, go see gay movies, go to gay restaurants, eat gay foods, live in gay houses, etc. Ditto if you’re black, Latino, etc.
If they’d simply marketed the movie as a rom-com that HAPPENED to feature two gay guys, millions more people would have been interested. But no, they chose to market the movie as a GAY film, with GAY actors, with a GAY poster of two GAY guys grabbing each other’s GAY asses, describing it as GAY representation (in the rom-com genre), and are now surprised that no one turned out to see it.
People are just tired of the divisive rhetoric. Just make a good movie with a good story and market it to EVERYONE. You’ll be surprised at the turnout.
Donston
GlobeTotter, STFU. Please find something else to rant about besides your constant “Anti woke” blithering. The post you responded to literally has literally nothing to do with that rant of yours. While most widely distributed or promoted “queer entertainment” is made to appeal to a broad audience first and foremost and is not that concerned with appealing directly to the people who reflect the subject matter. So, from every angle your post is nonsensical and just wrong.
GlobeTrotter
@Donston: You have a lot of anger, don’t you? Maybe you should see someone about that.
Suffice it to say, most people would seem to agree with my sentiments, as is evident from the low viewer turnout.
DK
@GlobeTrotter People not going to see the movie has nothing to do with radical right extremist incels and angry old washed up yt men having nothing to say ever but woke this and woke that. Every Republican sentence ever: a noun, a verb, and woke. It’s like y’all are all programmed with the same dumb right-wing propaganda talking points, appropriate black language/culture and twisting it to the benefit of white supremacy. Boring af.
JessPH
1. People don’t watch rom-coms in theaters anymore. They watch it on streaming platforms. People go to theaters nowadays for action movies only.
2. The actors are simply not famous. Famous actors draw crowds. Studios should stop listening and being pressured by the woke mob. They should return to casting famous actors (gay or straight) as gay leads.
smittoons
Yes, rom coms are not popular in the way they were in the 90s and early 2000s, but I would point out that Crazy Rich Asians made $174 million in the US. Yes, it was based off a book and you could argue Michelle Yeoh, Constance Wu and Akwafina add up a bigger box office draw than Eichner and co, and “Asian” is more accessible to Americans than “gay,” but at the end of the day it’s still a romcom which it’s studio tried to make a streaming TV movie.
inbama
@smittoons
“Crazy Rich Asians” is irrelevant. It knew the romcom audience: women.
smittoons
@inbama So women don’t like LGBT people, or gay men don’t like romcoms?
DK
Oh lord. A noun, a verb, and woke. Every sentence these days by every yt guy brainwashed with right wing propaganda. My eyes can’t roll hard enough.
GlobeTrotter
@DK: “My eyes can’t roll hard enough.”
Try harder!
Donston
Their whining and entitlement is ruining the rep of the movie and killing people’s interests in it. No one is guaranteed a box office hit. While a low-ish budget gay romantic comedy with no big name actors was never gonna smash at the office. Never mind Billy not being the type of guy many people are wanting to see as a romantic lead. They’re pissed because they know they should have gone down the streaming route instead of trying to prove by releasing in a bunch of theaters. They lost the gamble. Get over it.
smittoons
Yeah, nothing they are saying is necessarily incorrect, but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t have just put on a happy face and told people to see their celebratory and funny movie instead of terrorized the VMAs and then a litany of allies. It was an own goal because of that. And I’m not telling Eichner to be less him, but it’s common sense that you don’t lash out at people preemptively when promoting not only your hard work, but the work of all the people who helped you make it. I feel bad for Stoller and Luke MacFarlane in particular, and this was such an opportunity to get more of these kinds of films in theaters. I am so happy I could see a movie like that with a joyous crowd.
1898
“It’s almost like people don’t know what’s good for them.”
spending $18 on a movie ticket, $7 on a bottle of water, and sitting in a sealed unventilated room with a bunch of total strangers for two hours during a pandemic is good for me? amazing
“I think a lot of people are still afraid to go to theaters…”
some of us can’t afford to be sick for days, weeks or months, just so we can watch a comedy movie. it’s not about being afraid, it’s about being a grownup and making grownup decisions based on the reality we live in
Rich85
Amsterdam opened last weekend with mega watt Oscar winning stars and a huge music star and a big name director. It tanked big time and stands to lose at least $100 million dollars. People see what they want to see, and don’t see what they don’t want to see. I doubt you’ll see Christian Bale, Margot Robbie or any of the other stars go whining to the press or hurl insults towards potential audience members who were simply not drawn to the film. Billy Eichner needs to hush up!! He’s becoming even less appealing than his character in the movie was.
EducatedOtter
Is it though @Bigboaster? All i know about an actor is that he’s played a straight man in numerous romance tv movies and suddenly, when he’s finally playing a gay man in a gay romance, I’m supposed to jump and care? This is like some perverse version of queer-baiting. “He always played straight but now he’s gay! Come see our movie!” No thanks.
Kangol2
I proverbially took my vitamins and went to see this movie to support it, even though I do not find Billy Eichner appealing in the least, and I have been seeing his shtick since his early Man on the Street days. I sat through the movie, which had a decent but not packed audience, and when I left, I thought, I would much rather have caught this on streaming. It was the same clichéd story I’ve seen before, with a few changes, and I probably would have enjoyed it a lot more if another actor had played the role Eichner did. I did think it was funny in places and overall a good film. I also would recommend others see it. B-Boy Blues, which got no public play and never will because of its director, was far better by every measure.
Eichner should accept that many people–gay men in particular–may not want to see his film, or may want to see it via streaming, etc., and just go on with his business. As someone pointed out on the first article about his box office debacle, had he offered a more welcoming response–we hoped more people would see this film, which received very strong reviews, and we hope many more of you will go out and see it in the theaters, etc.–he might have received a different response. As things stand, he is steadily antagonizing more potential viewers, which I guess fits his personailty, but it’s no way to draw people to your work.
Donston
Billy is not much of an actor. He’s a “personality”. So, beyond not being the most conventional “heartthrob” or pretty boy, he doesn’t really have the charm or acting chops to carry a film.
I have yet to see the movie, but I was already slightly turned off by his need to star in it as well as the desperation to have it released in a bunch of theaters. It made it seem like a vanity project. The trailers, which made the movie look a fairly basic but maybe a bit more clever rom-com, also didn’t help the appeal.
This whole reaction is a bad look on him and unfortunately also the “white gays”. He’s one of the most prominent out guys in Hollywood and he’s old enough to know better. Going down the accusatory and cry-baby route is not gonna make more people see it. If anything, it just overwhelms the narrative, and it’s likely what this movie will be remembered for.
Neoprene
“It’s almost like people don’t know what’s good for them.”
You tell us, commie girl!
Jim
It’s show BUSINESS Bro.
If ya can’t deliver quit
Diplomat
Luke MacFarlane to me, is a famous gay actor with the series Brothers and Sisters (06 to 11) under his belt right from the get go. He’s sexy he’s hot he’s tres watchable and worth a theatre go to. Eikner is barely worth streaming. They put a 10 with a 4. Why would they put an A list Hollywood heartthrob with your average Walmart shopper? Bad math for a movie which they fail to own, though many people have made them very aware of it. Their gargantuan lipstick on pig denial on this topic only makes their belly aching seem boring and contrived, pushing people away.
Even if Jake G and Heath L had been unknowns, their 10+ stature would have still filled movie theaters. I didn’t know either of them until I saw BBM via a poster. The poster alone was so hot I had to see the movie.
That casting faux pas along with the pandemic is the death knell. I’m not going to theatres due to pandemic reasons. It’s a little too soon. I’ll do 10 mins of streaming on Bros and see from there. I hope it hooks me. I love MacFarlane and Deborah Messing so it probably will.
Diplomat
PS… Exceptions…. Had it been Luke M with Chris Evans, I would surely mask up.
GrantS
I don’t get the animosity toward Billy Eichner. He’s not my idea of a romantic lead but he is smart and very funny. Stop projecting his character onto him as if they were the same people. And show some sympathy. He put his heart and soul into this movie and has a right to some raw feelings. He could have been a lot more caustic…or wrong. He also has 3 Emmy nominations, and while I like Luke Macfarlane, he’s a Hallmark hack who doesn’t have any. So, who is the bigger actor and who is barely worth streaming?
Diplomat
Grant S,
I see Eikner as billing himself for something he’s not: a hot sexy lead actor. It’s off putting and disingenuous. And he’s not owning it, another big problem.
Luke MacFarlane played full on gay, kissing etc, from 06 to 11 on the series Brothers and Sisters and has been out ever since. He doesn’t just do straight Hallmark that just jumped the fence. He’s been out and gay for ages.
I have no sympathy for Eikner. He pushed something on us we didn’t want to see and I think he knew it from the start. Mainly, Eikner.
Diplomat
I will say that if he owned his biggest mistake in this movie, his laughable self centered billing, instead of sweeping it under the carpet, I’d show him alot more respect.
smittoons
In what world is Eichner not a good looking guy? Okay if people don’t like his loud gay Joan Rivers schtick, but if he’s a 4, what hope is there for anyone?
And why does he get flak for writing a movie for himself to star in? Is that not what talented people who want to have a career on camera do to get the roles and kinds of movies they want? Has he not done enough to earn the right to try? He had his comedy show, he joined the cast of Parks and Rec, did voice acting in Bob’s Burgers and The Lion King, did a dramatic role in American Horror Story. How is that not enough?
Meanwhile Seth MacFarlane (no relation to Luke) parlayed being a cartoonist turned writer turned voice actor into starring in his own movies and TV shows where he gets to romance women played by the likes of Charlize Theron and Adrienne Palicki. Everyone wants to bang Seth MacFarlane so he should feel no shame whereas Eichner should not have the same hubris? Again, in what world is that logical?
xanadude
I loved the movie, but OMG Billy, STFU! Way to shame people and draw more negative attention and judgment on the community!
Max
I was excited that this movie was coming out. but…
what Stoller and Eichner’s are saying about why the movie isn’t more of a success is a complete turnoff. they also don’t seem to be interested in letting word-of-mouth help drive more attendance over a bit more time. and if it doesn’t peak anymore, why lose faith on getting great streaming numbers?
I’m waiting for streaming and inviting friends over for better-than-theater concessions eats and drinks.
seven5tx
Wow buncha rich maybe handsome queens arbiting MY gay experience. Thank you Rosie O’Donnell and Noah Galvin.
Who actually goes to the theater anymore. Maybe for some huge high tech immersive experience but not for just a reg. movie.
There are lots of really good gay love stories out there. The Thing About Harry is good.
Your avg. straight person imho is not going to go out of the way for this kind of film. Should have been done for streaming. Before it came out out I got sick of the GAY GAY GAY GAY GAY GAY.
Have not seen it yet. Was not familiar with Eichner but his conceited petulance is a really huge turn off. I don’t think he is that good looking either.
McFarlane is great in anything.
Caelestius
Most of these comments sound like gay men are drinking Ingratitude, on the rocks, for breakfast. Since before Rock Hudson died of AIDS we’ve been ragging on Hollywood to make more (some, any?) movies about us. Now that it’s happening, it’s pretty graceless to complain that we hate the wrapping so we’re not gonna open the present.
Billy Eichner happens to be very sexy to me. If he isn’t for you, do you make that a criterion for every movie? I also agree with him–film is a social art, and is best appreciated in a theater, with other peoples’ emotions and reactions part of the art experience.
The worst thing here isn’t the movie but the crappy attitude with which gay men treat each-other, made worse by the isolationist psychology of streaming the world from your f**king couch.
C’mon, guys–every opinion expressed here could have been articulated like an elegant screenplay. But instead it sounds like a cat-fight. Are we still stuck in “Boys in The Band?”
Bertram
I held my nose and went to see it.
Agility
Insulting the people who haven’t seen the movie is a really bad marketing choice. And yet, they persist.
WillParkinson
A friend of mine went to see it, and she said it had a lot of history, but that was thrown at you. She said it had moments, but overall she hated it. When she asked if Paul and I were going to see it, I said no. She asked why. I said my main reason was Eichner. I don’t find him amusing in the least. Plus, the trailer was, in my opinion only, kind of icky.
mrcynical
The charmless, loudass that is Eichner is probably the main reason I won’t go to see it
Night
I went to see it and overall enjoyed it as a summer / autumn comedy.
However, I almost didn’t go because of the advertising: 1 I couldn’t really figure out if it was a romantic comedy or two gay men clowning around; and 2 (although it was removed from the movie) the nipple cupping scene – I don’t get the straight people wanted to see that – I could take it or leave it, but it left me with a question as to whether I’d enjoy the movie or be kinda bored.
Again, overall good, glad we went.
Fahd
It´s a little funny that there´s so much open soul searching by the makers of this movie. I don´t think all this talk and encouragements and recriminations is going to stop its biggest audience from waiting for it to stream. Wonder why they didn´t do the theater release-streaming hybrid distribution.
Not to reinforce stereotypes, but a few stunning unknowns (see Harrison Dickenson in Beach Rats) among the supporting cast and someone better looking and with a higher Q score (more box office draw) for the Eichner role, might have helped get some guys off their couch. I still applaud the effort, and I hope there is more to come, even if it´s without Eichner in a leading role.
mrcynical
Eichner is still an attractive gay hooking up with a more attractive gay, which is already a tired trope. It is Eichener’s personality that put me off, which turns out to be exaclty the same offscreen as it is all his annoying onscreen characters
gayconservative
I was curious about the movie when I saw the trailers for it. But now given the overblown sense of entitlement from Billy Eichner and now the director, I’m not sure I would even watch it on streaming. I love gay movies, some are good, some are bad, but I love watching them. Shelter is one of my favorites. Love, Simon and the subsequent series Love, Victor were amazing. I’ve watched all of these multiple times. If Eichner and the director had kept their mouths shut, I probably would have watched their movie. But now I’ll do as Eichner says and not watch it because I am the wrong type of gay person.
kirkthompson
Disclaimer: I am a sucker for a RomCom. After that confession, I must say I thoroughly enjoyed “Bros”. It was light, sweet and who doesn’t like a feel good ending. I highly recommend it.
DBMC
It’s really good and really funny. I’m glad I saw it with a fairly full audience.
SFHarry
If you want a successful gay movie with appeal to the general public, make a rom-com with gay characters rather than a gay rom-com.
The trailer made it seem like a movie geared to gay audiences( a tired old bottom joke). I’d like to see it, but I’d imagine if there was a movie about two mathematicians in love I would go but not to a movie about math.
inbama
If I were a producer and given Eichner and Nicholas Stoller (director of neighbors), I’d have tossed the whole rom-com idea and told them to come up with a gay Seth Rogan comedy.
Ken_K
I think relentlessly marketing Bros as “THE FIRST MAJOR STUDIO LGBTQ+ ROM-COM” really did the film a disservice. After the first act that mostly established Billy’s character as an annoying self-righteous gay activist, it really was a rom-com with gay characters, and not a “gay rom-com.”
The film didn’t take a script that could have been written for straight characters, and change a few details to make the characters gay. Eichner and MacFarlane played two gay men going through the ups and downs of falling in love, doing things many gay men do, in settings where gay men spend times. There wasn’t any of the usual “gay guys in a straight world” or “the angst of coming out” drama.
After the first 20 minutes or so, I really loved the film. I laughed out loud more than I usually do at movies (including when some of the audience went “Eeewwww” during a passionate sex scene that involved fingers and toes), and I choked up and cried a little at the end.
I’ll probably see it again – in a theater if it lasts long enough, but certainly on streaming.
bachy
@KenK: You make a good point about the marketing. I feel they “over-politicized” it with “THE FIRST MAJOR STUDIO LGBTQ+ ROM-COM” strategy. People are exhausted with how over-politicized everything is nowadays. Romance is supposed to be an escape from life’s more dreary dimensions.
They should have kept the marketing light, sexy and fun and dispensed with the heavy-handed political statement-making.
woodroad34
I would love to see this movie…but I don’t like going to movie theaters and sitting next to someone who may have Covid–it’s still a thing as friends and co-workers have been attesting and sitting in a close environment is not for me.
FreddieW
As far as rom-coms go, I thought “The Lost City” was better. Billy Eichner could learn a thing or two from Sandra Bullock rom-coms. Her character often starts out abrasive, but she doesn’t stay that way, so you like her and want her to be happy. I didn’t feel that at all for the jerk of a main character in “Bros”.
bachy
Good point! Sandra frequently has an abrasive personality to begin with, but her character arc leads her to become more authentic, open-hearted and vulnerable. A good critical insight on the script/direction of BROS.
cuteguy
The problem with your theory is that Sandra Bullock actually has talent and is able to have that range as an actor. Billy doesn’t have that talent and had he let a true A list talent like Chris Evans or Ryan Gosling take over his role and explored that range, this could’ve helped the movie and definitely the reach and buzz. As much as I applaud the effort of trying to highlight an all LGBTQ cast headlining a major motion picture like Crazy Rich Asians did for Asian community, this was an epic fail and it may have done more harm than good to future lgbtq projects of this nature. Do you think an A list actor will attach themselves to a future project like this if another lgbtq film like this is greenlit?
Jake123
Dear God the Cast and Crew of this movie are off putting.
ladron
I’m already tired of this movie, and I haven’t even seen it. Doesn’t bode well …
Rikki Roze
So many commenters here just love to trash Billy Eichner. The worst are those who don’t like the film because they are not attracted to Mt. Eichner sexually. Does that mean that you can only relate to men who turn you on? I feel sorry for you. If that’s all that you got out of this thoughtful, funny, well made film then you should just stay home. A lot of gay men have a very difficult time accepting any critical view of the gay male community. Thank you, Mr. Eichner, for writing and acting in an honest film. The message in the film that we gay men need to think about is why it is so difficult for so many of us to develop intimacy in our relationships and to be open to more than how many reps a guy can do at the gym.
LegionKeign
I sorry, but Mr. Eichner and his fanboys, cheerleaders and paid shills have killed it for me. I’m tired already of hearing about this eff’n movie.
I admit I’m no fan of Eichner’s, but I was going to watch the movie, but all of this whining, berating, finger-pointing, blaming and attempts at shaming folks for not seeing the film has pushed me to my limit.
Instead of acting like an adult, Eichner has acted like an eff’n spoiled child who ruined his own birthday party by acting like a douche.
He proved a point though, something the studios have been trying to tell “the Gays”, you have to have at least one big name talent in the lead to get asses in the seat.
Billy “I’m a Loud-Mouth Annoying Street Comic” Eichner isn’t exactly Marquee Talent and I’m sorry but Mr. McFarlane is a “made-for-television” hunk, once again NOT top Marquee Talent.
Move on. There will be a next time, albeit, in about another 20 years since Eichner eff’d this up so wonderfully with the shitty passive-aggressive promotion and the weird “not-so-funny” teaser clips and trailers.
smittoons
It’s just so funny how many kettles are calling the pot black when they assail Eichner for being a b*tchy loud mouth.
Veles
I can still feel the scathing rejection of this movie. Billy Eichner and his vulgar humour has denied me an opportunity to see a truly charismatic rom com. Studios will now shy away from doing another gay romantic comedy. It is unfair. Why give something like this over to BIlly Eichner? Netflix did a similar thing with Q-Force. I don’t watch gay tv shows or movies anymore because I know that I won’t enjoy them.