In response to the underwhelming box office performance of his Gay love comedy Brothers, Billy Eichner has written that “straight people, especially in some regions of the country, just haven’t been showing up.”
Eichner, who wrote, produced, and starred in “Bros,” expressed his pride in the movie in a thread on his official Twitter. He also talked about how he discreetly attended a sold-out screening of the movie in Los Angeles over the weekend.
“Last night, I snuck into a sold-out theater in Hollywood to perform ‘Bros,’ and I sat in the back. From beginning to end, the audience howled with laughter. At the conclusion, they erupted in ovation, and some wiped away tears as they left, according to Eichner.“Unfortunately, that’s the world we live in,” Eichner continued. “Even with rave reviews, great Rotten Tomatoes scores, an A CinemaScore, etc. straight people, especially in certain parts of the country, just haven’t turned up to Bros. And that’s disappointing, but it is what it is.”
Eichner concluded his thoughts by encouraging “anyone who isn’t a homophobic nutcase” to watch “Bros,” writing that seeing this special story on a big screen “remains special and uniquely powerful.”
Bros is the first gay rom-com to be released by a major studio and the first with an openly LGBTQ cast.
The film fizzled at the box office this weekend, opening in fourth place with gross gross of $4.8 million from 3,350 locations. Although “Bros” has a modest production budget of $22 million, it will likely be difficult to achieve profitability given its disappointing debut.
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Despite this, “Bros” has received rave reviews from critics, and audience polls remain strong. Universal hopes word of mouth will give the film some staying power in the coming weeks.
