It was a no-go for Bros at the box office this weekend.
The gay romantic comedy starring Billy Eichner flopped in its domestic debut, only grossing $4.8 million. That put it in fourth place behind The Woman King, which was in its third weekend of release, and Don't Worry Darling, which was in its second weekend.
Bros was the first theatrical romantic comedy from a major studio to star a cast of all LGBTQ+ actors in the main roles, and its weak performance was despite the fact that it received largely positive reviews from critics. Audiences polled by CinemaScore also gave it an A rating.
Eichner expressed his disappointment on Twitter, suggesting "straight people" not going to see the film was to blame.
"That's just the world we live in, unfortunately," Eichner tweeted. "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."
Box office analysts cited a variety of factors in the performance, including the fact that it has grown more challenging to get audiences to come to a movie theater to see comedies in general, but especially romantic comedies, when they can wait to watch them on streaming; in recent years, many moviegoers have turned out only for "event" films in theaters while staying home for everything else. Bros also did not have any major stars in it, and some experts felt the marketing campaign was weak and that it could have benefited from a different release date.
When the romantic comedy Ticket to Paradise, starring George Clooney and Julia Roberts, opens later this month, its performance could help clarify why Bros flopped and indicate to what degree the theatrical romantic comedy as a whole is in trouble.
