'Bros' star Billy Eichner reacts to 'disappointing' box office opener: 'The straight guys just didn't show up'

Billy Eichner has shared his thoughts on the meager box office opening of his LGBTQ romantic comedy "Bros ", writing that "straight people, especially in some parts of the country, just didn't show up."

In a thread posted to his official Twitter, Eichner, who wrote, produced and starred in "Bros , " claimed he was "very proud" of the film, describing his experience secretly watching a sold-out screening in Los Angeles over the weekend.

"Last night I snuck out and sat in the back of a sold-out theater to play 'Bros' in LA. The audience roared with laughter from start to finish, burst into applause at the end, and some wiped tears as they walked out," Eichner wrote. "It was truly magic. Really. I'm VERY proud of this movie."

The star also revealed that a movie chain had plans to take down the trailer of "Bros" from its programming due to "gay content", but Universal eventually convinced the company to maintain its placement in the pre-show rotation. "America, fuck yeah," Eichner wrote.

"It's just the world we live in, unfortunately," Eichner continued. "Even with rave reviews, great scores for Rotten Tomatoes, an A CinemaScore, etc., straight guys, especially in some parts of the country, just haven't shown up for Bros. And that's disappointing, but it is what it is."< /p>

Eichner concluded his thoughts by encouraging "everyone who isn't queer homophobic" to see "Bros ,” writing that it remains “special and uniquely powerful to see this particular story on the big screen.”

"Bros" was the first gay romantic comedy to be widely released theatrically by a major studio, as well than the first with an all-LGBTQ cast.

The film fizzled at the box office this weekend, opening in fourth place with a slim gross of $4.8 million from 3,350 locations. Although "Bros" has a modest production budget of $22 million, it will likely struggle to break even, given its disappointing debut.

Even so, "Bros" received rave reviews from critics and audience polls remain solid. Universal hopes that word of mouth will provide some resistance to the film in the weeks to come.

Comments