Billy Eichner has a blunt response to Bros' disappointing box office performance despite its glowing reviews from critics. Bros premiered on September 30 and is a LGBTQ+ romcom directed by Nicholas Stoller. The film follows Bobby Lieber (Eichner), a podcast host who is insistent that he's content going on Tinder dates while avoiding commitment. However, when he meets lawyer Aaron Shepherd (Luke Macfarlane), the two can't deny their mutual attraction and navigate forming a commitment together.
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So far, Bros has received a highly positive response from critics, who praise the film's representation and humor. The film has a strong 91% on Rotten Tomatoes, and audiences gave it an A rating on a scale of A+ to F through CinemaScore. Unfortunately, Bros was subject to review bombing from homophobic internet users prior to release. However, those who have actually seen the film have had only positive things to say about it. It is one of the few LGBTQ+ rom-coms released by a major studio to also boast an openly LGBTQ+ cast. Not only that, Bros captures LGBTQ+ representation, history, and acceptance accurately, while also proving to be a very fun film. Despite its strengths, though, Bros has underperformed at the box office.
As part of a thread celebrating his movie's achievements, Eichner took to social media with his response to Bros' less-than stellar box office performance. In his post, Eichner bluntly explained that Bros' box office performance is the result of the unfortunate state of the world. Check out his response below:
Why Bros Started Off Low At Box Office
Based on its strong reviews, Bros did have a surprisingly low start at the box office. Bros had initially been predicted to bring in $8-10 million on its opening weekend. In the end, Bros earned only half of its box office projections, wrapping up opening weekend with $4.8 million. With a film being raved about by critics as much Bros was, the underwhelming box office performance was difficult to understand. However, Eichner has a point in addressing the sad truth that many straight individuals simply won't turn out to support an LGTBQ+ film due to their own beliefs or lack of awareness. It would be easy to also say the romance genre has struggled in recent years, or that the pandemic has taken a toll on movie theater attendance. These factors could've contributed to Bros' performance as well, but Eichner's claim isn't to be dismissed.
Even though Eichner is blunt about Bros' box office performance, he is still certainly proud of it. His Twitter page is filled with additional tweets capturing the overwhelmingly positive responses from those who did turn up for Bros. With a strong word-of-mouth, the rom-com could prove to have strong legs as it drums up a bigger audience. There is also a chance it will end up becoming a classic within the genre. Regardless of box office performance and responses from online trolls, the film's crew and anyone who does decide to watch Bros remains immensely proud of it and its historical nature.