Why did ‘Bros’ bomb at the box office despite positive reviews?

Universal Pictures’ Bros has gone down in history as the first gay rom-com to ever be made by a major motion picture studio and the first starring and co-written by an openly gay man, Billy Eichner. Its cast is comprised completely of LGBTQ actors (even those playing straight characters), and the movie received an overwhelming amount of praise leading up to its Sept. 30 premier. 

Billy Eichner and Luke Macfarlane, the movie’s two main leads, have spent a great deal of time promoting the film; Eichner even took to Billy on the Streets, his Emmy Award-nominated comedy show, to get the word out to as many people as possible. 

Rotten Tomatoes has Bros sitting comfortably at a 90 percent critic score and a glowing 91 percent audience score. The movie itself is chock-full of humor – just the kind you’d expect from a Judd Apatow-produced film – and blends the perfect amount of rom to level out the com. LGBTQ people who grew up with films such as The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, and Bridesmaids are rightfully relieved to finally (finally!) see themselves represented on the big screen, and in a better-than-average movie at that. 

So, why did Bros, an unarguably great film with an unarguably great script, flop at the box office? 

Why weren’t the positive reviews enough to save Bros?

When good movies perform badly at the box office the culprit usually lies in the film’s marketing campaign or lack thereof. After all, good movies can only be seen if people know they exist. 

That being said, Bros exceeded well beyond the average movie’s marketing campaign when it comes to getting its poster and presence out in the world. Not only were there commercials, teaser trailers, and billboards up and down the boardwalk of Eichner and McFarlane grabbing each other’s asses, but Eichner and McFarlane also went on non-stop press tours in the weeks leading up to the movie’s premiere. Eichner even used his 3.6 million followers across YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter to leverage his Billy on the Street fan base to get out and go buy tickets. 

The movie’s brought in a weak $4.8 million on opening weekend. The numbers, while discouraging, can’t be chalked up to a lack of advertising, though. They can, however, be linked back to the kind of advertising. 

Bros leaned heavily into the “first gay rom-com to be made by a major studio” angle and less on the actual comedy of the movie. Going to see it felt more like a political statement and less like a fun foray to the movie theater.

On Twitter, Eichner pointed at homophobia as the possible culprit for  Bros’ less than satisfactory turnout.

So, too, did his fellow costar Dot-Marie Jones, who plays the female lead in the moviewhom Glee fans will recognize as coach Sheldon Beiste. “There’s so much heart and so many wonderful good laughs in this [movie],” she told Variety. “I don’t know if it’s because it’s, you know, LGBTQ. It’s not contagious — f****** go see a movie, you know what I mean? It’s crazy.”

Of course, citing homophobia can be jarring to moviegoers who simply don’t have an affinity for rom-coms, gay or otherwise, or who were unaware of just how funny the movie would be from the advertising alone. The genre’s lack of popularity in recent decades gives more than enough claim to support its poor turnout and coupled with a spooky season release date when most moviegoers were fixated on Hocus Pocus, Halloween Ends, and Smile, suddenly gives context to Bros underperformance at the box office.

Is it as cut and dry as rom-coms versus homophobia? The answer lies only in the wallets of those who didn’t buy a ticket to see the movie, and whatever reasoning, subconscious or otherwise, led them to stay home or see another film instead. One thing can be said on the matter, though: Bros displays an honest portrayal of gay love, which has hardly been shown to such a degree in mainstream media. The film’s lack of turnout is saddening, but not surprising. Appreciation for something raw and new is far more challenging than cozying up with something familiar and comforting. 

One can only hope that Bros blazed the trail for future LGBTQ rom-coms to carry the torch all the way to the box office next time.