Billy Eichner Courts Controversy On Twitter After ‘Bros’ Box Office Bomb

After Billy Eichner’s rom-com Bros bombed at the box office, earning just $4.8 million on its opening weekend, Eichner logged onto Twitter to vent his frustration, blaming “straight people” for not showing up to see the movie.

Eichner’s tweet proved far more controversial than the film, sparking hot discourse and prompting plenty of jokes from Twitter users, bemused by Eichner’s emotional reaction.

The tweet also prompted a surge of self-victimization from conservative commentators, who were angered by the accusation (former The View host Meghan McCain wrote a whole column about it).

The entertainment industry is embracing representation and courting wider demographics, and that’s undeniably a positive step forward. But is showing up to a movie something people are obliged to do? We’re talking about movie tickets here, not voting ballots.

Homophobia might have contributed to the damp performance at the box office (the film was also subjected to a review bombing campaign, seemingly sparked by bigotry), but that doesn’t tell the whole story. After all, audiences showed up for Moonlight, and Brokeback Mountain; maybe Bros just didn’t appeal to cinemagoers.

Bros might be groundbreaking for a romantic comedy, but it’s just a romantic comedy, one without much in the way of star power, and rom-coms simply don’t light up the box office the way they used to; the genre is now associated with a lazy night in front of Netflix.

When it comes to film and television, viewers are spoilt for choice, with good entertainment set-ups at home, expensive trips to the theater saved for spectacle and awe. The big screen is the place to watch Avatar, while Bros can be watched in the comfort of home (the film will likely have a stronger performance when it arrives on steaming).

Not to mention, television is lightyears ahead when it comes to LGBT representation; HBO paved the way for sophisticated, diverse storytelling long ago – Six Feet Under premiered back in 2001, and showcased several queer storylines, with depth and nuance. Interview With A Vampire premiered recently on AMC, bringing Anne Rice’s homoerotic subtext to the surface.

Bros might have “triggered” right-wing culture warriors and trolls, but nowadays, that really isn’t hard to do (hell, the latest Buzz Lightyear movie sparked an absurd backlash over a split-second same-sex kiss; even Mr. Potato Head can provoke a moral panic).

Billy Eichner, however, isn’t backing down from the culture war; in another tweetstorm, Eichner vowed to “continue tweeting about Bros every day for the next year just to spite” all the haters.