Billy Eichner Blames “Straight People” for ‘Bros’ Box Office Flop

Who is at fault for Bros‘ less than stellar debut at the box office? According to star Billy Eichner, “straight people” may be to blame for not seeing his history-making queer rom-com. The film is “the first gay rom-com from a major studio with an openly LGBTQIA+ principle cast,” and upon its Sept. 30 release, was marked a box office flop for making 40% less than expected during its opening weekend, per The New York Times.

Eichner, who co-wrote and leads the comedy, tweeted about watching Bros from the “back of a sold out theater” in Los Angeles. “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,” said the comedian.

He noted the film’s critical acclaim, garnering “glowing reviews” on Rotten Tomatoes and CinemaScore, and even finding its way onto Rolling Stone’s list of “best comedies of the 21st century” (where it sits at #67 out of 70), despite the pushbacks they received. Eichner wrote, “At one point a theater chain called Universal and said they were pulling the trailer because of the gay content.”

Adding the film’s box office performance, he added, “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.” He then encouraged “everyone who ISN’T a homophobic weirdo” to see the film.

Eichner said, “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.”

Eichner is right in his observations: Bros currently has a 91% critic approval rate on Rotten Tomatoes and an A on CinemaScore, and while the remnants of Hurricane Ian caused poor weather along the East Coast (particularly in New York City and Washington D.C.), that didn’t cause other new releases to falter in their box office earnings.

The New York Times estimates that Bros made $4.8 million in domestic ticket sales during its opening weekend, spending $30-40 million on promotion and $22 million for production, compared to the new horror film Smile, which made $22 million in its opening weekend and cost roughly $17 million, and second and third weekenders Don’t Worry Darling and The Woman King which respectively made $7.3 million ($32.8 million total) and $7 million ($46.7 million totally).

The build to Bros’ opening weekend saw Eichner reviving his Billy on the Street game show, with guests Jack Black and Paul Rudd, along with social media endorsements from big-names like Chris Evans, Edgar Wright, and Seth Meyers.

And while Eichner didn’t see this coming, The New Yorker expressed doubts ahead of the film’s release, stating that the rom-com genre, in general, has “migrated to the streamers” after dwindling success on the big screen (Bros has yet to announce plans for a digital release).

The outlet also noted that “the pandemic has made it difficult for any non-superhero movie to get a big theatrical audience,” so while the film’s queerness undeniably caused some dips in its box office success, that’s unlikely to be the root of the issue. In the age of Fire Island and Happiest Season (two LGBTQIA+ rom-coms that streamed directly to Hulu), Bros’ issue might lay in its platform.