the romcom brothers might score well with critics, but that didn’t result in a very strong opening for the new film. Co-written by Billy Eichnerwho also stars in the film alongside Luke Macfarlane, brothers was directed by co-writer Nicholas Stoller. The film, whose main cast is made up of all-LGBTQ+ actors, tells the comedic love story of a neurotic podcast host and a promiscuous lawyer who find exactly what they’re looking for.
Eichner did a lot of work to help promote brothersgo so far as to bring back Billy on the street with some of his celebrity friends to help sell tickets. Unfortunately, the result wasn’t great, as the film landed at the box office with a $4.8 million opening. The film now faces an uphill battle to recoup its $22 million budget, but that could still happen if moviegoers start watching positive reviews and word of mouth. brothers in the coming weeks.
For his part, Eichner can’t help but be disappointed by this result. He took to Twitter to share his take on the situation and share a story of how he snuck out a jam-packed showing to see everyone in the theater enjoying the film immensely. Eichner thinks it’s not a question of quality and suggests the film isn’t getting the support it needs from outside the LGBTQ+ community.
Bros does well with critics
“Last night I snuck in and sat in the back of a sold-out theater performance brothers in LA,” he said in a Twitter thread. “The audience cried with laughter from start to finish, burst into applause at the end, and some wiped their tears as they walked away. It was truly magical. Really. I am VERY proud of this film.”
He added: “Rolling Stone has already… brothers on the list of the best comedies of the 21st century. What’s also true is that at one point, a theater chain called Universal said they pulled the trailer because of the gay content. (Uni convinced them not to). America, f*** yeah, etc etc. Unfortunately that’s just the world we live in. Even with rave reviews, great Rotten Tomatoes scores, an A CinemaScore etc., straight people, especially in certain parts of the country, just didn’t show up for brothers. And that’s disappointing, but it is what it is.”
With another plea for fans to see the film in theaters, Eichner emphasized: “Anyone who is NOT a homophobic lunatic should go see brothers this evening! You will love it! And it *is* special and uniquely powerful to see this particular story on the big screen, especially for queer people who don’t get this opportunity very often. I love this movie so much. TO GO BRITTLE!!!”
brothers is now in cinemas. You can watch the official trailer for the film below.