Billy Eichner is standing by his assertion that homophobia played a role in at least some of the disappointing box office results of his gay love comedy “Bros.”
Speaking on Friday at the 2022 New Yorker Festival, Eichner emphasised his statement that anti-gay sentiment is a strong social force in many areas of the nation. The issue of homophobia is more serious than how it relates to this stupid rom-com. However, do I believe it’s a factor? Yes, I believe that was a factor in some areas of the country, he replied.
Despite being released on 3,500 screens, “Bros” only earned $4.8 million in its first weekend; the majority of that money came from New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. After receiving that dismal box office forecast on Sunday, October 2, Eichner stirred up the internet with a series of tweets that included the following: “Even with rave reviews and fantastic Rotten Tomatoes scores, an A CinemaScore etc., straight people, especially in certain parts of the country, just didn’t show up for ‘Bros.’ On October 2, he commented in part, “And while that’s frustrating, it is what it is.
Conservatives widely derided him for his remarks, and even Los Angeles Times writer Matt Brennan criticised him for reacting with a “sense of entitlement” and “self-importance.”
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Eichner made his first public statement since then on Friday, and he remained steadfast on the issue while also admitting that a number of contributing circumstances came into play first.
For example, according to Eichner, the romantic comedy subgenre isn’t quite the cinematic powerhouse it once was, and the biggest recent triumphs have all been through streaming. People appear to like to watch these movies there, he observed. “I still enjoy watching these films in theatres. I used to accompany my parents to the movies as a child to watch all these romantic comedies. Obviously, things change with time, and culture consumption has changed as well.
Eichner called the movie’s wide release, despite the absence of any actual movie stars, “a daring swing,” given that “Bros” features “difficult subject matter,” according to certain spectators.
Although there was a lot of gay sex in the trailers, which some people loved and others weren’t at all surprised by, he praised the movie’s studio, Universal, for being “quite bold in how they framed them movie in trailers; it seemed like something they look at every day on their phones.”
The theatre chain in the south and the midwest really called Universal during the summer and said, “We’re not showing this trailer,” he continued, “but in some parts of the country, like I indicated in my extremely controversial tweet. In that sense, our nation is split, and it varies depending on where you reside.
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Eichner remarked, “Homophobia is a greater issue than how it relates to this ridiculous rom-com. “However, do I believe it’s a factor? Yes, I believe it was a factor in some areas of the country.
Although, to be quite honest, we didn’t make the film for homophobes in the first place. An R-rated homosexual romcom is this. It was never the intention of the film to try to persuade those who dislike homosexual people that we’re normal, sweet, and cuddly, and that it’s good to love us. That movie is totally not this. So it’s complicated, and when you look at it from a distance, I find the whole thing to be extremely silly—simply it’s a comedy, Eichner said.