Bros Box Office Flops Over Comedy Or Homophobia?
graphic by Hallie Meyer
On September 26th, just four days before the premiere of Bros, Billy Eichner, a writer and actor in the film, went on Conan O’Brien’s podcast, Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend, to talk about Bros and his journey in Hollywood. “We’re just in a weird industry that made two movies about a talking hedgehog before they made one gay rom-com… no one worried about whether or not Sonic the Hedgehog was relatable,” said Eichner on the topic of Bros being considered a monumental film due to it being the first gay rom-com with an all LGBTQ+ cast distributed by a major studio. “But that’s the question that lingers over a movie about, like, two actual human beings who walk the earth, meeting and falling in love and driving each other crazy the way people do.” Then Bros premiered on September 30th, only grossing $9.9 million at the box office with a budget of $22 million despite glowing reviews.
The movie itself follows podcaster Bobby (Billy Eichner), who has recently become an executive board member for the first LGBTQ+ History Museum and is preparing for the grand opening. While out at a nightclub for the launch party of a new gay dating app, he meets Aaron (Luke Macfarlane), a lawyer who’s unhappy with his job. Bobby and Aaron must navigate vulnerability and commitment as they attempt to have a ‘relationship’ together, all while experiencing the brutal truths of love and sex as gay men. From jabs at the infamous “Bury Your Gays” trope to Grindr hookup culture, Bros is hilarious, relatable, and endearing all at the same time.
Bros also has its faults; while vehemently trying to avoid incorporating femme gays into the film, it ended up ridiculing them. This was likely done to sidestep Hollywood’s affinity for overusing femme gays, as the movie wanted to avoid dipping into the stereotype. Still, at times it felt like it was making fun of femme-presenting gays whenever they were on screen— Bobby even remarked, “Gay guys are stupid” at the sight of one— and honed in on muscular gays instead, making Bros’ commentary on the toxic idolization of hypermasculinity meek at best.
Bros currently stands with an 88% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 6.9/10 IMDb rating— despite the review bombing Bros experienced a week before its release. Yet, the film didn’t meet opening week expectations at the box office. There’s the belief that Bros might be having trouble at the box office because it’s a rom-com; but The Lost City, Channing Tatum’s latest rom-com, came out in March of this year and grossed a whopping $190.8 million, currently standing as the 18th highest-grossing movie in 2022. Granted, they had A-lister protagonists, while Bros only had celebrity cameos like Debra Messing or Kristin Chenoweth (who wore a spinning hat of Stonewall, by the way; jaw-dropping doesn’t even begin to describe it). So sure, Bros didn’t have Channing– but is that enough to drive people away? At the New Yorker Festival, Billy Eichner spoke up on the matter. “Homophobia is a bigger problem than how it pertains to this silly rom-com. But do I think it's a factor? Yes, in certain parts of the country, I think it was a factor.”
Eichner is likely correct in believing so, especially since the trailers made it clear there wouldn’t be any sugarcoating for the straights. Director Nicholas Stoller expressed similar concerns to The Hollywood Reporter, stating, “I also do think people— and this is based purely on subject matter, not based on anything— had a feeling that it was good for them and not actually funny and entertaining… it might feel like homework.”
Sources at Variety have said that the timing, marketing, and other streaming releases may have also caused the box office numbers to be lower than expected (yet, Love, Simon, a gay rom-com with straight actors targeted to younger audiences, debuted in the US with $11.8 million at the box office, with a budget of $10-17 million. Sus.) Universal Pictures took a chance with Bros, one that could change how LGBTQ+ storylines are viewed by major studios. However, Hollywood loves money, and if Bros is considered a money flop, it could be a while until we see filmmakers take another chance like this, despite the promise of the movie’s great reviews.
Bros isn’t perfect, and it doesn’t tell every queer person’s tale. But it’s a win for the current moment. We can only hope to see more movies like it in the future, with more diverse stories. For now, it’s Gays: 1. Hollywood Homophobes: 0.