Or terrible marketing?
I never heard of this movie before. And the trailer looks awful.

But Billy Eichner thinks it bombed for other reasons:
"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"
"Everyone who ISN’T a homophobic weirdo should go see BROS tonight!"


Either way, he's doing his part letting the world knows this movie exists lol.



https://www.npr.org/2022/10/03/1126542223/bros-movie-billy-eichner-gay-box-office

Billy Eichner took to Twitter this weekend to share his thoughts on the disappointing reception his gay rom-com Bros received at the nation's cinemas.

"Even with glowing reviews, great Rotten Tomatoes scores, an A CinemaScore etc,," tweeted the film's star, producer and co-writer, "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."

Based on enthusiastic critical reaction at the Toronto International Film Festival, and robust social media attention, Universal Pictures had expected Bros – which is the first gay romantic comedy with a mostly LGBTQ cast to be given a wide release by a major studio — to open in the range of $8-10 million.

But playing in 3,350 locations this weekend, the film took in just $4.8 million, placing fourth at the box office after the horror film Smile, the second week of the thriller Don't Worry Darling, and the third week of historical epic Woman King.

Although Bros was produced for a comparatively modest $22 million, Universal spent another $30 million on advertising and promotion, so the film will likely struggle to reach profitability.

Those who saw the comedy this weekend, made it clear they enjoyed it. Eichner tweeted of watching from "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."

"Even with glowing reviews, great Rotten Tomatoes scores, an A CinemaScore etc,," tweeted the film's star, producer and co-writer, "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."

Based on enthusiastic critical reaction at the Toronto International Film Festival, and robust social media attention, Universal Pictures had expected Bros – which is the first gay romantic comedy with a mostly LGBTQ cast to be given a wide release by a major studio — to open in the range of $8-10 million.

But playing in 3,350 locations this weekend, the film took in just $4.8 million, placing fourth at the box office after the horror film Smile, the second week of the thriller Don't Worry Darling, and the third week of historical epic Woman King.

Although Bros was produced for a comparatively modest $22 million, Universal spent another $30 million on advertising and promotion, so the film will likely struggle to reach profitability.

Those who saw the comedy this weekend, made it clear they enjoyed it. Eichner tweeted of watching from "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."

Indeed, with a 91% positive ranking from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, and 92% positive from audiences, Bros played well in big cities, with its best numbers coming from New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco. It did less well elsewhere though, especially in the South.

Eichner hinted at broader acceptance issues, tweeting that at one point a theater chain had "called Universal and said they were pulling the trailer because of the gay content. (Uni convinced them not to)."

MOVIE REVIEWS
'Bros' offers lots of laughs — plus a serious commentary on queer identity
"That's just the world we live in, unfortunately," the star continued, urging his followers to push past their disappointment and enjoy themselves.

"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 mean, there are people who'd call themselves allies to the LGBTQ community who still probably don't wanna see dudes kissing on the big screen.

so, i'm sure there's some of that in the mix

i'm sure it also has to do with no big names in the cast (is Billy Eichner a big name? i think he's big on social media but is he like, acting famous?), and that in the current cinema landscape, a rom com of any sort just isn't going to do as well as what people seem to eat up at the movies these days.

this feels like one of those movies the studio should have tried to let have a slow burn build up vs. shoving in our faces.

it does look funny though. i'm sure i'll see it at home (disclaimer i've been to one movie in the last year so i'm not the "movie going audience).

to see romantic comedies?

theaters are bleeding right now, and they seem to only blow for things like Marvel movies or Top Gun, or movies where the word of mouth is you have to see this in the theater

a romantic comedy is something most people are happy to wait for streaming. there's nothing about this movie that makes me want to leave the house, but i'm not big on romantic comedies either way.

what was the last romantic comedy that blew in theaters? (not rhetorical, i don't know)

Not to mention Everything, Everywhere....Top Gun....Black Phone....etc

All did well at the Box Office. I just dont think there's a huge audience for romantic comedies. That fits well with streaming.

---------------------------------------

"The world is before you and you need not take it or leave it as it was when you came in." - James Baldwin

... but it had two stars and was released on Valentine's Day, lol.

This had Billy Eichner, a Hallmark actor, and an October release date. Spelled doom from early on.

My movies: http://russellhainline.com
My movie reviews: https://letterboxd.com/RussellHFilm/
My beer TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thebeertravelguide

---------------------------------------

"The world is before you and you need not take it or leave it as it was when you came in." - James Baldwin

Reminds me of Elizabeth Banks blaming men for her movie Charlie's Angels being a massive flop.

If he's being honest he dropped the ball not making this a direct to streaming or purchase on Amazon movie.

---------------------------------------

"The world is before you and you need not take it or leave it as it was when you came in." - James Baldwin

>Elizabeth Banks blaming men for her movie
>Charlie's Angels being a massive flop.


No matter how hard the incelnet tries to make it a thing.

----------------------------------
I have a webcomic: www.watchthecomic.com

My webcomic has a page: www.facebook.com/watchyourheadcomic

"Prior to the movie hitting cinemas, Banks told the Australian newspaper Herald Sun that she believed men were not likely to see female-led action movies.

“They’ll go and see a comic book movie with Wonder Woman and Captain Marvel because that’s a male genre,” she said.

“So even though those are movies about women, they put them in the context of feeding the larger comic book world, so it’s all about, yes, you’re watching a Wonder Woman movie but we’re setting up three other characters or we’re setting up Justice League,” she said.

“If this movie doesn’t make money it reinforces a stereotype in Hollywood that men don’t go see women do action movies.”

---------------------------------------

"The world is before you and you need not take it or leave it as it was when you came in." - James Baldwin

If it didn't do numbers,wouldn't that indicate that Gay people also didn't run out to see this?

R.I.P. Loud But Wrong Guy
Dec 29th 2009 - Dec 17th 2017

I think we know the answer

www.engadgethd.com - the other stuff i'm looking at

I'd like to see it, but I ain't going to a theatre during a COVID infection wave - some of that might be at play.

It's a rom-com without J.Lo or K. Hudson or S. Bullock or H. Grant, could that be it?

It's an Appatow film - doesn't that lean a little bro-ier than even Apatow will admit?

Could it be marketing? I heard Billy on Conan, but that's the only time I heard of it.
BoxOfficeMojo says it made $4.8 million.

Other Appatow box office opening weekend flops:
Walk Hard -$4.1 million
Wanderlust (with J. Aniston) - $6.5 million
Juilet Naked - $60,000


Seems like the big miss is that LGBQT didn't show up over the weekend - but then again the movie was made to prove that non LGBTQ would see a movie that was funny and fun even with gay characters.

Or is this type of film the kind people would like to watch at home streaming now?

------------


Gone: My Discogs collection for The Roots:
http://www.discogs.com/user/tomhayes-roots/collection

If a romcom is going to take off, it needs some star pedigree to it to get asses in seats. So while the marketing let it down, it was also fighting an uphill battle. Like, I'm trying to think of a hit romcom that didn't have a star in it-- maybe if you go back to, like, My Big Fat Greek Wedding?

The best way to market this would've been to hammer the Apatow/Stoller connection-- this is the new Bridesmaids, the new Forgetting Sarah Marshall, etc. I think a lot of the publicity around this was "look at how historic this moment is!" rather than "this movie is really fucking funny." And I just don't know how many people, gay, straight, or otherwise, are super willing to line up for a romcom with a mediocre trailer and no stars just on the grounds of its historicness.

I hope Eichner gets to make another movie. Maybe a smaller scale will do him well for his sophomore effort. But he can't open a 22 million dollar movie. He's not even "I was an SNL cast member" famous in the real world. And the people who *do* know him are often divided on him due to his very singular style. I think he's very funny... but I also wouldn't have given him 22 million to make this movie, lol.

My movies: http://russellhainline.com
My movie reviews: https://letterboxd.com/RussellHFilm/
My beer TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thebeertravelguide

i love billy on the street but hated him on parks and rec lol

billy on the street is the only reason i heard of the movie, still havent seen a trailer. the explanation for the movie on conan made me eh on seeing it. he was listing movies i have always steered away from as what the goal was for it.

that said, apatow being involved has me interested enough to watch it when it gets to streaming.

________________________________________
"Take the surprise out your voice Shaq."-The REAL CP3
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2H5K-BUMS0

would be a better title

****************
TBH the fact that you're even a mod here fits squarely within Jag's narrative of OK-sanctioned aggression, bullying, and toxicity. *shrug*

and not ready to see movies in a theater yet.

Maverick was able to break records, but I bet most of those audiences weren't too concerned about indoor events.

I work on a college campus. We don't even have mask requirements anymore and still 80% of the students (and most faculty, including myself) are still walking around in N95s and avoiding indoor events.


Then again, the first I ever heard of Bros was from news stories about it flopping in theaters. So poor marketing is probably a simpler hypothesis.

Original IP is at a severe disadvantage right now, more than ever.

But - while I’m sure there are folks who didn’t want to see a gay movie, that pales in comparison to outright marketing this as a “you have to see it because cmon that’s why” approach. If this hit a streamer, as Fire Island did (without real stars) it’s a different story.

------------------------------

17x NBA Champions

I'm just wondering if movies designed for a predominantly left-wing audience might be especially challenging in the box office these days because of people wanting to remain cautious about covid.

But I think you're right that, whether that's a real thing or not, there are at least five or six other things more responsible for this trouble for Bros.

Now I'm wondering if this 'controversy' might drive it to do better next week. I don't think I'm the only one in this thread who said I hadn't even heard of the movie before people were talking about its box office.

when it hits one of the 5 streaming services I have. Not a theater joint, though, for me. I don't really care for Eichner, that much...at least, I didn't when he was added to Parks and Rec.

...I'm from the era when A.I. was the answer, now they think ai is the answer - Marlon Craft

Shit should’ve been straight to vudu

<--- Big Baller World Order

IG: amadu_me

"...Whateva, man..." (c) Redman

Shit I work in comedy and live in LA and, while I knew about the movie, I didn’t know it’d come out this weekend.

Homophobia certainly played a part, I’m sure, but a bigger issue is hard comedies without true STARS won’t find an audience until they’re on a streamer. The last one I can think of that permeated pop culture is Bridesmaids I think - which DID have SNL cast members at a time that mattered. Billy Eichner has been out of the Public’s eye for a bit now - and I don’t think he was THAT highly regarded before that.

------------------------------

17x NBA Champions

So I am not sure I about that homophobia argument

and Robin Williams, I don't think it would have done as well.

I was reading another article that was comparing this films marketing to Crazy Rich Asian and what they pointed out is that the film was marketed as a familiar romcom storyline of a fish out of water in a rich environment.

https://www.yahoo.com/now/bros-flops-box-office-marketing-130000824.html?guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAJN_n-ziiYzqI0_xqOnrYmvKVA5ykoeMeTZ-58lciLgMCWSroecFBkDrGoDl3yoN1u-iYf_mijRNLjVXyUg8mserXYq_zPP7aKrB-Awb9UcN2WjspL4WWsOgPhAgMdKTt-7yRcpyhPqNMuWnxcT1qSIgnPQLDINusEyq05uXB3ZA

Another point the article makes, which I hate but am unsure of, is that people don't want to go to the movies to see comedies. I don't think that's true, but it has been a hard time for comedies on the big screen.

but back to the main point. I think Billy is right. I think Hollywood very much misjudged how much universal interest there is in a gay RomCom. I guess that's homophobia, but I do also think its a function of being a niche film. Like people won't necessarily show up for an Indian, Muslim or even a Black RomCom. Either it's got to be really really good or people Identify with the story because it has a universality.


**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

"what's a leader if he isn't reluctant"

Comedies are GREAT in a theater - but that'd mean you'd need a semi-eventized movie for a packed theater experience. That doesn't really happen for original IP anymore, especially for straight up comedies. I mean, I've seen original comedies in the theater of course - but I can't think of the last one. And honestly, they were probably better off trying to make this a summer movie if that was the goal anyway.

The theater experience for a movie that doesn't really NEED a theater experience is a hard sell when we all know it'll be on a streamer very soon (annnnnd it'll probably be on there faster now).

All in all the marketing was bad.

------------------------------

17x NBA Champions

We had the American Pie era, then it slowed a bit

Then 40 Year Old Virgin/Wedding Crashers kicked the ever-loving shit out of that door, and there was a big run after that with the Judd Apatow era. Superbad, fo

Then we had Melissa McCarthy on a great run with Bridesmaids, Heat, and Spy.

I'm sure I'm missing a lot in between.

There's a formula for comedies to do serious numbers, particularly when blended with other genres. See the aforementioned Heat and Spy.

The Other Guys was a huge action comedy hit.
Knight and Day, 21 Jump Street, same.

It's not that people don't want to see comedies in the theaters.

It's that the comedies that drive people to theaters in droves, tend to offer a bigger experience that allows them to compete.

And to Ryan's point, its got to be semi-event. I think they tried to make Bros a semi-event and activate LGBTQ audiences but I am not sure that's a big enough base.

We've had a whole discussion about how the 2000s was, IMHOP, decade for comedies than the 2010s (and I think the same is true for the 2020s). There are a gang of reasons why.

I think you are right though that the right comedy could come along and change everyone's thinking on this.

Like, COming 2 America 2 could have been an event, but it wasn't that great of a movie.

But people still out for events and good movies. Like, Girls Trip or even Get Out (not a comedy, though funny as shit, but people came out for an original movie with original IP because the movie was just that good).


**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

"what's a leader if he isn't reluctant"

It's so near and dear to so many of us, that we were just happy to see these characters again.

I would have loved a "better" film.

But I was just so damn geeked it didn't really matter.

That likely would have had a killer opening weekend too.
Steep dropoff though.

I saw the trailer more than once before movies I went to see. I knew about it well before it dropped.

I barely saw any commercials for it. But I don't watch a slew of TV where I actually sit through commercials. I'll even get behind on watching a game to ffwd at least a little bit.

I'll end up seeing it at some point.

I'm willing to eventually go to a theatre (and have been for about a year now). But, at this point, I don't run out to see damn near anything. IE: it took me a while to go see Thor, Spiderman, Top Gun, etcetera.

>Or terrible marketing?
>I never heard of this movie before. And the trailer looks
>awful.
>
>But Billy Eichner thinks it bombed for other reasons:
>"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"
>"Everyone who ISN’T a homophobic weirdo should go see BROS
>tonight!"
>
>
>Either way, he's doing his part letting the world knows this
>movie exists lol.
>
>
>
>https://www.npr.org/2022/10/03/1126542223/bros-movie-billy-eichner-gay-box-office
>
>Billy Eichner took to Twitter this weekend to share his
>thoughts on the disappointing reception his gay rom-com Bros
>received at the nation's cinemas.
>
>"Even with glowing reviews, great Rotten Tomatoes scores, an A
>CinemaScore etc,," tweeted the film's star, producer and
>co-writer, "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."
>
>Based on enthusiastic critical reaction at the Toronto
>International Film Festival, and robust social media
>attention, Universal Pictures had expected Bros – which is
>the first gay romantic comedy with a mostly LGBTQ cast to be
>given a wide release by a major studio — to open in the
>range of $8-10 million.
>
>But playing in 3,350 locations this weekend, the film took in
>just $4.8 million, placing fourth at the box office after the
>horror film Smile, the second week of the thriller Don't Worry
>Darling, and the third week of historical epic Woman King.
>
>Although Bros was produced for a comparatively modest $22
>million, Universal spent another $30 million on advertising
>and promotion, so the film will likely struggle to reach
>profitability.
>
>Those who saw the comedy this weekend, made it clear they
>enjoyed it. Eichner tweeted of watching from "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."
>
>"Even with glowing reviews, great Rotten Tomatoes scores, an A
>CinemaScore etc,," tweeted the film's star, producer and
>co-writer, "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."
>
>Based on enthusiastic critical reaction at the Toronto
>International Film Festival, and robust social media
>attention, Universal Pictures had expected Bros – which is
>the first gay romantic comedy with a mostly LGBTQ cast to be
>given a wide release by a major studio — to open in the
>range of $8-10 million.
>
>But playing in 3,350 locations this weekend, the film took in
>just $4.8 million, placing fourth at the box office after the
>horror film Smile, the second week of the thriller Don't Worry
>Darling, and the third week of historical epic Woman King.
>
>Although Bros was produced for a comparatively modest $22
>million, Universal spent another $30 million on advertising
>and promotion, so the film will likely struggle to reach
>profitability.
>
>Those who saw the comedy this weekend, made it clear they
>enjoyed it. Eichner tweeted of watching from "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."
>
>Indeed, with a 91% positive ranking from critics on Rotten
>Tomatoes, and 92% positive from audiences, Bros played well in
>big cities, with its best numbers coming from New York, Los
>Angeles and San Francisco. It did less well elsewhere though,
>especially in the South.
>
>Eichner hinted at broader acceptance issues, tweeting that at
>one point a theater chain had "called Universal and said they
>were pulling the trailer because of the gay content. (Uni
>convinced them not to)."
>
>MOVIE REVIEWS
>'Bros' offers lots of laughs — plus a serious commentary on
>queer identity
>"That's just the world we live in, unfortunately," the star
>continued, urging his followers to push past their
>disappointment and enjoy themselves.
>
>"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."

It consists of several hardcore sex scenes, something that Rom-Coms stay away from.
It makes it not a ROM-Com


It has some what of an extreme leftist tone to it. The movie took shots at Trump
and Reagan, while acknowledging Stacey Abrams. That’s way too politically progressive
for a Rom-Com. There is no need for the movie makers to push some type of
political agenda in this particular genre of filmmaking.

Any type of political agenda in a Rom Com is going to lead to it
bombing….People want to laugh, see relationships get made fun of, and see a feel-good movie.

ALL HAIL THE KING of LOSING: LEBRON
Bulls | Bears | White Sox | Yankees | Notre Dame | Illinois | Chelsea | Real Madrid

but that trailer is not something a proud Reagan/Trump voter would tell their friends they want to see..

everything about that trailer screams “fox news woke mob” type rants from Hannity, Tucker, etc..

****************
TBH the fact that you're even a mod here fits squarely within Jag's narrative of OK-sanctioned aggression, bullying, and toxicity. *shrug*

I find him grating and unfunny, and I don’t get the appeal at all.

I imagine I’m not alone there.

that shit has streamer written all over it.

a gay rom com is a tough sell as it is. part of the appeal of straight rom coms to their predominantly female audience is that those woman wanna come vicariously live out that romantic fantasy for 2 hours. you dont have that same dynamic with a male rom com.

and then expecting a relative no-name to carry it too?

folks didn't see that one either.


**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

"what's a leader if he isn't reluctant"

.

--

Woe unto him who in this world courts not dishonor.

He should have had a bigger named actor in the lead role but decided he wanted to be the star of the movie. I only know him as the screaming guy from Parks & Rec. Blaming homophobia is a huge cop-out.

---------------------------------------

"The world is before you and you need not take it or leave it as it was when you came in." - James Baldwin

Yes, it made 178 M, but "only" 83M domestic. Internationally, it did better, especially in Europe and Australia.

https://www.boxofficemojo.com/releasegroup/gr3646640645/

And that was an Oscar-bait movie that was helped quite a bit from the exposure the movie got as an awards candidate.

Did homophobia play a part in the lack of success? Likely, That's just the culture we live within. But it may not be the biggest reason.

<--- Me when my head hits the pillow

------------------------------

17x NBA Champions

I only know about this movie because of Billy Eichner's complaints

i went straight to netfilx looking for it. then I went to reelgood to see where it was streaming... it took me a while to realize it was in theaters. not a movie i need to see on the big screen.

--
Sometimes you have to look reality in the face and say 'No!'
-Ben (Reaper)

If you need any help, don't. Hesitate to ask.

Just cuz your movie features people of a certain demo, dont mean that everybody who didnt watch or dislikes your shit hates that demo.

Lazy asses

If there are theatres that refuse to carry the movie, or show the trailer then air them out. Don't guilt me for being uninterested.

Member since Jan 04th 2006
1 posts

>Member since Jan 04th 2006
>1 posts
>

I was looking for the password for my og account but I found this instead.

i knew about it only because I heard him mention it on Conan's podcast. But other than that I saw 1 ad for it on tv. If people dont know about it how are they going to know to see it?

November 8th, 2005 The greatest night in the history of GD!

it had nothing to do with homophobia.

Plus, the trailer was terrible.

Aint nobody wanna see that stupid shit.

Aint nobody wanna see that stupid shit.

Title of the movie is kinda misleading.

I can only imagine how even more self-absorbed he would've become if this movie had been a hit

looks like straight *and* gay people did not want to see this movie in theaters

--------

I don’t know LGBTQ representation politics very well, but would a bunch of straight people making this (and with how many gay actors?) be akin to a bunch of white people making a moving about “black” people with some of the cast played by white people in blackface?

Also I saw the trailer and did not laugh once. But I’m a tough crowd for most comedy trailers so that isn’t an outlier.

Peace,

Spirit (Alan)
http://wutangbook.com

instead of Pride or Valentines Day or even Christmas(what were they thinking?)

People don't really go to the movies for rom coms lately

Billy isn't a star and he has a niche personality

What little marketing they had was polarizing and clearly didn't hit the mainstream


Also its R rated

I saw it last weekend because I couldn't see Barbarian, it was enjoyable, very much a classic romcom but gay.

__________
http://leswrite.com/

….the “homophobia” accusations were flung. Therefore the marketing for it was garbage. Besides that, I don’t even run to hetero rom coms, so a gay one surely won’t get my attention.


Since 1976

…or associate with
It’s not hate or fear…
It’s
That’s not for me
or
I am not interested.

**********
I should put that in a song

@nategoodness
www.nategoodness.com

The avatar is old. And, no, that hat was not a groovy style back then, either.