Billy Eichner Argues ‘Straight People’ Are Reason For Bros’ Low Box Office Numbers!

L. F.

Billy Eichner has THOUGHTS on his debut film Bros’ low box office numbers!

The first gay rom-com produced and distributed by a major studio was released on Friday, but only made $4.8 million (ranking at fourth place) during its first weekend, despite opening in 3,350 theaters. The movie was made for $22 million, and Universal Pictures may still have a hard time making a profit at this point — and this may deter other studios from making similar LGBTQ+ projects. Uh-oh!

Who’s to blame for all of this?! Well, in the words of the co-writer and leading man… straight people!

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On Sunday, Billy took to Twitter to reflect on the importance of the movie and the challenges he faced while making it. He wrote in a series of tweets:

“Last night I snuck in and sat in the back of a sold out theater playing BROS in LA. 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. Really. I am VERY proud of this movie.”

Unfortunately, outside of liberal hubs like LA, NYC, and San Francisco, not many people turned up to the movies — even though it has been praised by critics! He continued:

“Rolling Stone already has BROS on the list of the best comedies of the 21st century.”

Sadly, some companies still tried to push back against the gay-centric storyline, he noted:

“What’s also true is that at one point a theater chain called Universal and said they were pulling the trailer because of the gay content. ([Universal Pictures] convinced them not to). America, f**k yeah, etc etc.”

Calling out straight people’s lack of support, the former Billy on the Street star argued:

“That’s just the world we live in, unfortunately. Even with glowing reviews, great Rotten Tomatoes scores, an A CinemaScore etc, 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.”

Definitely disappointing! But there’s still hope. Billy left folks with one final wish, saying:

“Everyone who ISN’T a homophobic weirdo should go see BROS tonight! You will have a blast! And 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. GO BROS!!! ”

Take a look at his full Twitter thread (below)!

So important to support content like this! Especially considering it features an almost entirely LGBTQ+ cast, even in the straight roles. So much inclusivity which can be rare for the entertainment industry! But are straight people really to blame for low box office numbers or have people’s movie habits changed since the pandemic?! Hmm.

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Interestingly, Billy isn’t the only upset star right now. Actress Dot-Marie Jones also slammed homophobes for not turning up! While speaking to Variety at the Orpheum Theatre in Downtown Los Angeles during the Best in Drag Show charity event on Sunday. She declared:

“There’s so much heart and so many wonderful good laughs in this [movie]. I don’t know if it’s because it’s, you know, LGBTQ. It’s not contagious — f**kin’ go see a movie, you know what I mean? It’s crazy.”

And for what it’s worth, the few straight people who did rush to the theaters loved the film so much, some went back again! Dot-Marie added:

“I had a friend, she went and she’s straight. She went and saw it and went back and saw it again yesterday because everybody was laughing so much that she missed some of the jokes.”

Sounds like everyone who made an effort to watch Bros loved it! Check out the trailer (below) if you haven’t already!

Thoughts on this? Why do you think the movie had such low ticket sales? Let us know (below)!

[Image via Universal Pictures/YouTube]

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