Eichner Puts The Blame On The Audience

Most people don’t want to see movies perform poorly at the box office. And I’d argue that most people, despite the “go woke, get broke” social media rhetoric from a vocal minority, see the value in consuming and identifying with stories about people who may not look like them or share their lifestyle. So, it’s disappointing when a film, like Bros, featuring an underrepresented population doesn’t succeed.

Bro’s dismal opening of just $4.8 million — and a string of eyebrow raising tweets from writer-star Billy Eichner — has sparked conversations about why the well-reviewed gay rom-com failed, and if audiences should feel obligated to make a trip to theaters to prove they want to see inclusivity.

Eichner, frustrated by the opening, turned heads when he tweeted Sunday, “straight people, especially in certain parts of the country just didn’t show up for Bros.” Followed by “Everyone who ISN’T a homophobic weirdo should go see Bros tonight.”

The tweets have not been well received. Eichner’s tweets felt more like finger-wagging followed by moralistic confrontation rather than an invitation with a bit of warning, if you compare them to Viola Davis’ more polite request last month to see The Woman King: “If you don’t plop down money on opening weekend, you’re not going to see Black females leading a movie AGAIN.”

I’m empathetic to the situation. It sucks to be passionate about something and not see that passion met by a willing audience. Yet, I think it’s clear from the numbers that the box office didn’t simply come down to straight people not going, or homophobia.

Several critics suggested that people were turned off by a line in the trailer that said straight people “had a good run,” though I imagine that any straight person offended by that joke would never have seen the movie anyway. What Eichner is overlooking is that a significant population of the LGBTQ community didn’t show up either. Whether it was because the film didn’t appeal to Millennial and Gen Z audiences who drive the box office, or because it opened in October alongside Paramount’s well-reviewed horror movie, Smile, Bros didn’t make a compelling case for a movie that was a must-see in theaters, even if people do agree that there should be more LGBTQ+ rom-coms. But that’s comedy….