“Bros” actor Billy Eichner said over the weekend that it was “disappointing” to see the lack of support for the romantic comedy he co-wrote — which follows the story of two gay men — after it struggled in its box office debut.
“Bros” sat in fourth among this weekend’s movies after raking in $4.8 million, according to Box Office Mojo. Horror flick “Smile” dominated with $22 million.
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Eichner, 44, tweeted Sunday that he was “VERY proud of this movie” and listed some of its early accolades, but said, “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!” he added.
The movie follows the story of two men – Bobby, played by Eichner, and Aaron, played by actor Luke Macfarlane – who fall for each other despite their commitment issues. The film also has an “entirely LGBTQ+ principal cast,” Universal Pictures said.
Eichner, who Universal said was the first openly gay man to co-write and star in his own major studio film, acknowledged the significance of the movie’s cast and encouraged people to watch it.
“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,” he said.
In an interview for “CBS Sunday Morning” with CBS News correspondent Jonathan Vigliotti ahead of the film’s release, Eichner discussed why he believes it’s taken so long for Hollywood to release a film like “Bros.”
“Well, the real answer to that is that the world, including Hollywood, has been very homophobic,” Eichner said. “And it’s a complicated topic, because in some ways Hollywood has often led the charge when it came to LGBTQ issues and representation. And yet, underneath it all, I think there was always a fear that the quote-unquote mainstream audience wasn’t necessarily ready for this type of movie. And I think, because of that, a lot of our stories weren’t told.”
