Bros star Billy Eichner says the movie was "always going to be an uphill battle" at the box office

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Exclusive: Billy Eichner shares his thoughts on Bros' box office performance with Total Film

Billy Eichner and Luke Macfarlane in Bros
(Image credit: Universal Pictures)

Bros star and co-writer Billy Eichner has shared his thoughts on his gay rom-com's disappointing box office performance in the US, citing a lack of space for openly LGBTQ actors to become movie stars in Hollywood.

The movie, which was initially released in the US on September 30, made $4.9 million in its opening weekend at the box office, despite projections of between $8 and 10 million. Its Stateside total is $11 million against a budget of $22 million.

Eichner continues: "The vast majority of the people that did go see the movie in theaters in America were gay men, because it's coming from a need to see themselves reflected. I think many of them were gay men of a certain generation, my generation and maybe even older, who haven't had that opportunity and who didn't grow up with as much queer content as we're getting now, on streaming and online. It depends what your perspective is going into it. But hopefully, as more and more of this content gets made, the audience at large just becomes more comfortable with it and more familiar with it. That's not to say people are homophobic, that's just to say they might not immediately think that it's something they can relate to."

You can listen to our full interview with Bros stars Billy Eichner and Luke Macfarlane on our podcast, Inside Total Film. Bros is out in UK cinemas now. 

Emily Garbutt
Entertainment Writer

I’m an Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering everything film and TV-related across the Total Film and SFX sections. I help bring you all the latest news and also the occasional feature too. I’ve previously written for publications like HuffPost and i-D after getting my NCTJ Diploma in Multimedia Journalism.