‘IT IS WHAT IT IS’

Billy Eichner on Dismal ‘Bros’ Box Office: ‘Straight People Just Didn’t Show Up’

The actor mused in a tweet that “straight people, especially in certain parts of the country, just didn’t show up for Bros.”

Late last month, The Daily Beast made a direct appeal to heterosexuals: please, go see Bros. It now appears as though none of them heeded that call—at least, according to the film’s co-writer and star Billy Eichner. Touted as the first gay rom-com to be given a wide release by a major studio, Bros vastly underperformed in its debut weekend, pulling in roughly $4.8 million in the U.S. and Canada. On Sunday, Eichner took to Twitter to respond to the paltry box office numbers. “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,” Eichner wrote. “And that’s disappointing but it is what it is.” In the thread, Eichner noted that he was “VERY proud” of the film and directed everyone “who ISN’T a homophobic weirdo” to go see the movie “tonight.” Jim Orr, a Universal executive, was guarded in speaking to The New York Times on Sunday about Bros’ dead-on-arrival entrance. “We’ll see where we go from here,” he said, adding that he “really [believes] there is going to be great word of mouth.”