Billy Eichner responds to “dismal” box office for ‘Bros’ on its opening weekend
Bros seriously underperformed at the box office over its opening weekend and Billy Eichner believes straight people are to blame.The eagerly-anticipated gay rom-com, produced by a major studio and starring an all-LGBTQ cast in lead roles, opened at over 3,300 theaters nationwide.It met with almost unanimously good reviews, with both critics and audiences scoring it above 90% on aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes.However, it came fourth at the weekend box office, taking $4.8million.
Its production budget was around $22million. Movies usually need to take around three times their budget to turn a profit, after taking into account the slice theaters take and the costs of marketing and promotion.Related: Colton Underwood sings Billy Eichner’s praises in the sweetest way possibleThe Bros takings placed it behind horror flick Smile (a $22million debut), Harry Styles-starred Don’t Worry Darling ($7.3million on its second weekend), and The Woman King ($7million).Variety called Bros’ takings “paltry”.
It says Universal was hoping for an opening weekend of $8-$10million.The Hollywood Reporter called the Bros figures “dismal”.Box Office Mojo said, “This is a worse debut than the summer’s sole studio live-action comedy Easter Sunday, which had a $5.4 million opening and went on to gross just $13 million.
Bros could do better when it’s all said and done with good word of mouth, but it’s a dismal opening not just for the $22 million film but for the comedy genre as a whole.”Responding to the box office data, Eichner posted a Twitter thread last night.
