Entertainment
Billy Eichner says ‘straight people didn’t show up for Bros’ as rom-com tanks at the box office-Alistair McGeorge-Entertainment – Metro
The actor has called out people for skipping the film.
Billy Eichner has an explanation for the poor box office return (Picture: Jeff Kravitz/Getty Images for MTV)
Bros star Billy Eichner has argued ‘straight people just didn’t show up’ to watch the romantic comedy as it tanked at the box office.
The first gay rom-com from a major studio – which comes from producer Judd Apatow and director and co-writer Nicholas Stoller – has been a major hit with audiences and critics with 91% on Rotten Tomatoes, but it pulled in just $4.8 million over its opening weekend in the US and Canada against a budget of $22 million.
Now Billy, who stars opposite Luke Macfarlane in the movie, has opened up on his experiences watching the film with the public, and given his thoughts on the poor box office return.
He tweeted: ‘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. Rolling Stone already has BROS on the list of the best comedies of the 21st century.
‘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. (Uni convinced them not to). America, f**k yeah, etc etc.
Billy firmly believes in the movie, which has been praised by critics (Picture: Gregg DeGuire/FilmMagic)
‘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.’
Although studio Universal’s film performed well in a number of markets across New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles, while also doing decent business in other major cities like Chicago.
Calling for more people to give the film a chance, Billy continued: ‘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!!!’
Meanwhile, the 44-year-old actor previously explained he wouldn’t have signed up for the movie at all if it wasn’t ‘authentic to gay audiences’.
He told Empire: ‘When Nick told me he wanted to do a gay romcom, I said to him, “If you think we can just do When Harry Met Sally and swap out the man and woman for two men, then I’m not interested”.
‘While I wanted the story to be accessible to everyone, it also had to be authentic to gay audiences. To his credit, Nick immediately said, “Whatever is honest will be best.” ‘
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MORE : Billy Eichner wouldn’t have signed up for Bros if it wasn’t ‘authentic to gay audiences’
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