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Bros (film)

This article is about the 2022 American film. Not to be confused with Bro (2023 film) or Bro (2021 film).

Bros is a 2022 American romantic comedy film starring Billy Eichner and Luke Macfarlane as two gay men in Manhattan who avoid commitment but are drawn to each other. The film is directed by Nicholas Stoller based on a screenplay he co-wrote with Eichner and is produced by Stoller, Judd Apatow, and Josh Church. Produced under Universal Pictures on a budget of $22 million, it is one of the first gay romantic comedies by a major studio and has an openly LGBTQ principal cast.[5]

Bros
A rear view of two men wearing jeans and tshirts, each one with a hand reaching across grabbing the other's butt cheek
Theatrical release poster
Directed byNicholas Stoller
Written by
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyBrandon Trost
Edited byDaniel Gabbe
Music byMarc Shaiman
Production
companies
Distributed byUniversal Pictures
Release dates
  • September 9, 2022 (2022-09-09) (TIFF)
  • September 30, 2022 (2022-09-30) (United States)
Running time
115 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$22 million[2]
Box office$14.8 million[3][4]

Bros had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 9, 2022. Universal spent between $30–40 million marketing the film and commercially released it in theaters in the United States on September 30, 2022.[6] The film received generally positive reviews from critics, but it bombed at the box office, grossing $14 million worldwide against a production budget of $22 million.

Plot

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In New York City, Bobby Lieber, host of the podcast and radio show The Eleventh Brick at Stonewall who prides himself on being single, attends an awards ceremony for the LGBTQ community, where he wins an award for "Best White Cis Gay Man". He announces that he has accepted a position as a curator for the upcoming national LGBTQ+ history museum in Manhattan.

Bobby joins his friend Henry at a nightclub where a new gay dating app is being launched, and spots Aaron Shepard, whom Henry describes as hot but "boring". Aaron and Bobby flirt, but Aaron does not seem interested in Bobby. A few days later, the two start spending time together, but their connection is not strong. While on a date at the movies, Aaron runs into a former high school hockey teammate, Josh, and his fiancée. Bobby and Aaron are unsure what to make of their time together; Bobby feels Aaron acts too straight and Aaron thinks Bobby is too intense and that his clout in the gay community is intimidating. Aaron later discovers that Josh called off his engagement and has come out as gay.

After some time apart, Aaron confides to Bobby that his original dream was to be a chocolatier, but had thought that it was unachievable and never pursued it. Bobby invites Aaron to a trip to Provincetown, where he solicits an eccentric millionaire for a donation to the struggling museum. The millionaire is unimpressed by Bobby at first, but Aaron helps him to adjust his pitch, and they secure a $5 million donation. Bobby is impressed by Aaron and the two grow closer romantically, and Bobby opens up about having to tone down his flamboyant behavior to make others comfortable.

Bobby and Aaron date for several months and Aaron integrates into Bobby's group of friends. At a Christmas party, Josh arrives and Aaron asks Bobby if they can have a threesome. Bobby agrees, but later recants on his wishes after seeing the connection Aaron and Josh have. When Aaron's family comes to the city for a visit, Bobby's excessive, outspoken behavior ends up causing a rift between the two men. Aaron hooks up with Josh again and they break up. People are threatening to boycott the museum and pull donations over an exhibit Bobby created that suggests that Abraham Lincoln was gay.

Sometime later, Bobby returns to work and reconciles with his coworkers over his outburst over the exhibit. The others all admit they have their own issues as well over matters such as their sexual identities, and agree to compromise on the exhibits that will be presented. Meanwhile, Aaron quits his job and fulfills his dream of making chocolates, telling Bobby that all proceeds will go to the museum.

On the opening night of the museum, a large crowd turns out. Bobby misses Aaron, and after talking to his friend Tina, decides to text him. Aaron receives the text and is encouraged by his brother to go after the person he loves, arriving just as Bobby begins his speech. When he sees Aaron, he proceeds to sing a song he wrote about their relationship, inspired by the music of Garth Brooks, Aaron's favorite singer. When the song ends, Bobby and Aaron kiss, to applause from the crowd. Three months later, Aaron's mother brings her 2nd-grade class to the museum, and Bobby and Aaron are still dating.

Cast

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Production

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On February 5, 2019, it was announced that Billy Eichner would write, executive produce and star in a romantic comedy feature film, directed and co-written by Nick Stoller.[9] Principal photography was set to begin on June 7, 2021, in Buffalo, New York, and Provincetown, Massachusetts.[10] Filming subsequently took place in Manhattan and in downtown Cranford, New Jersey.[11] Stoller previously directed Eichner in Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising, which received praise for its depiction of a gay relationship and positive support from heterosexual cisgender male friends compared to many comedies which used gay panic for laughs.[12]

Most of the cast was revealed on September 23, 2021,[13] and September 30, 2021.[14] Bowen Yang and Harvey Fierstein were revealed to have joined the cast on November 4, 2021.[15] Benito Skinner also joined the cast, though his role was cut from the final film.[16]

The film is a gay romantic comedy from a major studio featuring a predominantly LGBTQ+ principal cast;[7][17] Debra Messing and Kristin Chenoweth are also in the cast, but in smaller cameo roles, playing themselves. Stoller calls them "allies" of the community.[7][18]

Release

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Theatrical

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Bros had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 9, 2022,[19] and was theatrically released in the United States on September 30, 2022, by Universal Pictures.[20] It was originally scheduled for release on August 12, 2022.[21] Prior to its commercial release, the film was allegedly subjected to homophobic review bombing from users on IMDb; although this was just speculated.[22][23][24]

Home media

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Bros was released on PVOD on October 18, 2022[25] and on Blu-ray and DVD on November 22, 2022.[26] Despite failing at the box office, the film found moderate success from PVOD rentals; ranking number 2 on Vudu (calculated by revenue) and number 3 on iTunes and Google Play (ranked by transactions). Tom Brueggemann of IndieWire called it "quite good for a studio release that fared this poorly in theaters."[25]

Reception

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Box office

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Bros grossed $11.6 million in the United States and Canada, and $3.2 million in other territories, for a total worldwide gross of $14.8 million.[3][4] The film's box office performance was labeled a box office bomb by several media outlets.[27][28][29][30]

In the United States and Canada, Bros was released alongside Smile, and was initially projected to gross $8–10 million from 3,350 theaters in its opening weekend.[2] After making $1.8 million on its first day of release, including $500,000 from Thursday night previews, projections were revised to $4–5 million. The film went on to debut to $4.9 million, finishing fifth at the box office.[31][32] The film's top 10-performing theaters were all in New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, while it underperformed in much of the middle of the country and in the south.[33] Opening-weekend audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale, while those at PostTrak gave the film an 80% overall positive score, with 69% saying they would definitely recommend it.[31] The film fell 55.5% to $2.2 million in its sophomore weekend, finishing in eighth.[34]

Eichner expressed disappointment at the film's box office results, saying that "straight people, especially in certain parts of the country, just didn't show up for Bros."[35] Zack Sharf and William Earl from Variety countered in an analysis that other factors contributed to the film's poor box office, stating that "straight people aren't entirely to blame" and that "many LGBTQ viewers didn't show up to see the comedy in theaters either." While they viewed homophobia as a likely component, they also noted other factors such as a lack of interest in the material, a lack of star power, the marketing focusing on representation over its humor, timing of its release date, competition from anticipated streaming releases such as Blonde and Hocus Pocus 2 (all three films were released concurrently), and audiences' possible fading interest in Apatow's films. They also noted that more women than expected had shown up to see the film.[28]

The film's marketing was also noted by Drew Gillis of The A.V. Club, stating, "more than a couple A.V. Club commenters pointed out that the film’s trailer seemed to tell straight audiences that this wasn’t a movie for them—the 'Remember straight people?' line at the end of the trailer was specifically highlighted."[36] The factors noted by Variety were reflected in similar analyses by Richard Newby of The Hollywood Reporter and Scott Mendelson of Forbes. Newby noted that Eichner's strong-arm tactics of shaming heterosexual viewers into seeing the film did not bode well with potential viewers, calling Eichner's Twitter messages "finger-wagging followed by moralistic confrontation than an invitation with a bit of warning."[29] Mendelson also iterated that heterosexual audiences were not entirely to blame.[30]

Ts Madison, who had appeared in a supporting role in the film, expressed the opinion that the film's commercial underperformance could be attributed at least partially to people who were willing to see the film nonetheless having misgivings about other people seeing them buy tickets for it in a public theatre, and speculated that it would likely perform better on home streaming platforms where people could view it in privacy.[37]

Following the film's release, Eichner took to his Twitter to repel criticism from people celebrating the film's poor box office results, vowing to tweet about the film every day to spite critics.[38]

Critical response

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On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 88% based on 226 reviews, with an average rating of 7.6/10. The site's critics' consensus reads, "Bros marks a step forward in rom-com representation – and just as importantly, it's a whole bunch of fun to watch."[39] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 72 out of 100 based on 46 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[40]

TheWrap's Alonso Duralde praised Macfarlane's performance, writing: "Like Bobby, this gay critic's not-so-secret comfort viewing is Hallmark Christmas movies, and I've always enjoyed Macfarlane's work as a charming romantic lead in them, but Bros offers the kind of complexity and shading (to say nothing of humor) that Hallmark never could. Anyone coming into this film only knowing Macfarlane for his cozy cable movies will leave with a new appreciation of this versatile actor's wheelhouse."[41] Marya E. Gates of RogerEbert.com gave the film 2.5 out of 4 stars, writing: "Its perpetual commentary on the mainstreaming of queerness remains at odds with its very desire to tell its story within the Hollywood system."[42] Writing for Consequence, Clint Worthington gave the film a B− and said: "When it focuses on Eichner and Macfarlane, and the ever-complicated mores of queer masculinity, it stays charming and light on its feet. If it were a little less self-conscious about that homonormativity, it'd have a more cohesive identity, and be more of a slam dunk in the process."[43]

Accolades

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Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
Hollywood Music in Media Awards November 16, 2022 Best Original Song in a Feature Film Billy Eichner and Marc Shaiman ("Love Is Not Love") Nominated [44]
Song – Onscreen Performance (Film) Billy Eichner ("Love Is Not Love") Won
Best Music Supervision — Film Rob Lowry Nominated
Critics' Choice Movie Awards January 15, 2023 Best Comedy Bros Nominated [45]
Set Decorators Society of America Awards February 14, 2023 Best Achievement in Decor/Design of a Comedy or Musical Feature Film Nicki Ritchie and Lisa Myers Nominated [46]
Hollywood Critics Association Awards February 24, 2023 Best Comedy or Musical Bros Nominated [47]
GLAAD Media Awards March 30, 2023 Outstanding Film - Wide Release Bros Won [48]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Bros". Toronto International Film Festival. Archived from the original on December 7, 2022. Retrieved July 28, 2022.
  2. ^ a b Rubin, Rebecca (September 28, 2022). "Billy Eichner's Gay Rom-Com 'Bros' Takes on Creepy Thriller 'Smile' at Box Office". Variety. Archived from the original on October 11, 2022. Retrieved September 28, 2022.
  3. ^ a b "Bros (2022) - Financial Information". The Numbers. Archived from the original on December 16, 2022. Retrieved November 15, 2022.
  4. ^ a b "Bros (2022)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
  5. ^ "'Bros' trailer: Billy Eichner to lead first gay rom-com by a major studio". NBC News. May 18, 2022. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
  6. ^ Barnes, Brooks (October 2, 2022). "'Bros' Fails at the Box Office, as 'Smile' Arrives at No. 1". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 2, 2022. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
  7. ^ a b c d Soloski, Alexis (May 18, 2022). "Crafting a Rom-Com That's True to 21st-Century Gay Life". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 18, 2022. Retrieved September 16, 2022.
  8. ^ a b Nolfi, Joey (October 2, 2022). "Billy Eichner reveals why those hilarious A-list cameos happen at the end of Bros". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on November 10, 2023. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
  9. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (February 5, 2019). "Nick Stoller To Direct Romantic Comedy Starring Billy Eichner, With Judd Apatow Producing". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  10. ^ "Bros". ProductionList.com. May 10, 2021. Archived from the original on May 10, 2021. Retrieved May 10, 2021.
  11. ^ Lissner, Caren (September 28, 2021). "Groundbreaking Film 'Bros' Is Shooting In Cranford This Week". Cranford, NJ Patch. Archived from the original on November 7, 2022. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
  12. ^ Bloomer, Jeffrey (May 20, 2016). "How the Gay Twist in Neighbors 2 Turns the "Bromance" on Its Head". Slate Magazine. Archived from the original on April 20, 2021. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
  13. ^ Goldberg, Lesley (September 23, 2021). "Billy Eichner Sets Historic LGBTQ Cast (With a Twist) for Universal's 'Bros' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on May 20, 2022. Retrieved September 23, 2021.
  14. ^ Donnelly, Matt (September 30, 2021). "Billy Eichner's 'Bros' Adds Jim Rash, Eve Lindley, Peter Kim and More (EXCLUSIVE)". Archived from the original on April 14, 2022. Retrieved September 30, 2021.
  15. ^ Donnelly, Matt (November 4, 2021). "Bowen Yang, Harvey Fierstein Join Billy Eichner's Gay Rom-Com 'Bros' (EXCLUSIVE)". Archived from the original on May 12, 2022. Retrieved November 4, 2021.
  16. ^ Donnelly, Matt (November 5, 2021). "Comedian Benito Skinner Joins Billy Eichner's 'Bros' (Exclusive)". Archived from the original on August 5, 2022. Retrieved November 6, 2021.
  17. ^ Tangcay, Jazz (May 18, 2022). "'Bros' Trailer: Billy Eichner Stars in a Steamy and Meta Gay Rom-Com". Variety. Archived from the original on June 3, 2022. Retrieved May 19, 2022.
  18. ^ Candice McMillan (June 3, 2022). "Review: 'Fire Island' reimagines Pride of Jane Austen's 'Pride and Prejudice'". Seattle Refined. Archived from the original on October 7, 2022. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
  19. ^ "'Bros', gay rom-com written by Billy Eichner, to premiere at TIFF" Archived October 3, 2022, at the Wayback Machine. Toronto Star, July 15, 2022.
  20. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (January 21, 2022). "Billy Eichner Romantic Comedy 'Bros' Moves To Fall After 'Mission: Impossible 7' Re-Assignment To 2023". Archived from the original on June 2, 2022. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
  21. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (March 5, 2021). "Billy Eichner Universal Romantic Comedy 'Bros' Sets Late Summer 2022 Release". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on March 5, 2021. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  22. ^ Hattie Lindert (September 29, 2022). "By prematurely deriding the plot, Bros review bombers lose their own". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on October 14, 2022. Retrieved October 14, 2022.
  23. ^ Rude, Mey (September 23, 2022). "Homophobes Are Already Review Bombing Billy Eichner's Rom-Com 'Bros'". Out. Archived from the original on September 25, 2022. Retrieved September 26, 2022.
  24. ^ Hansford, Amelia (September 24, 2022). "Billy Eichner's gay rom-com Bros is getting review bombed by pathetic homophobes". PinkNews. Archived from the original on September 27, 2022. Retrieved September 28, 2022.
  25. ^ a b Brueggemann, Tom (October 24, 2022). "'Bros' Brouhaha in Theaters Leads to Strong VOD Results". IndieWire. Archived from the original on February 19, 2023. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
  26. ^ Gonzales, Dillon (November 16, 2022). "Universal To Release The Hilarious Billy Eichner Rom-Com 'Bros' On Blu-Ray Very Soon". Geek Vibes Nation. Archived from the original on February 19, 2023. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
  27. ^ Brennan, Matt (October 5, 2022). "Commentary: The real lesson of 'Bros': It's OK to let gay art bomb". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on February 19, 2023. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
  28. ^ a b Sharf, Zack; Earl, William (October 3, 2022). "Why Did Billy Eichner's 'Bros' Bomb at the Box Office? Straight People Aren't Entirely to Blame". Variety. Archived from the original on October 4, 2022. Retrieved October 3, 2022.
  29. ^ a b Newby, Richard (October 4, 2022). "When 'Bros' Bombed, Star Billy Eichner Put the Blame on the Audience". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on February 19, 2023. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
  30. ^ a b Mendelson, Scott (October 4, 2022). "6 Reasons Billy Eichner's 'Bros' Was A Box Office Disaster". Forbes. Archived from the original on February 19, 2023. Retrieved February 19, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  31. ^ a b D'Alessandro, Anthony (October 1, 2022). "'Smile' Now At $19M Weekend Opening – Saturday AM Box Office". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on October 1, 2022. Retrieved October 1, 2022.
  32. ^ Murphy, J. Kim (October 1, 2022). "Box Office: 'Smile' Chomping Into $19 Million, Billy Eichner's 'Bros' Debuting at No. 4". Variety. Archived from the original on October 1, 2022. Retrieved October 1, 2022.
  33. ^ Pamela McClintock (October 2, 2022). "Box Office: 'Smile' Laughs to $22M Opening as 'Bros' Frowns With $4.8M". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on October 1, 2022. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
  34. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (October 9, 2022). "'Smile' Posts Best Second Weekend Hold For R-Rated Horror Film After 'Get Out'; Audiences Never Got High On 'Amsterdam' – Sunday AM Box Office". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on January 29, 2023. Retrieved October 9, 2022.
  35. ^ Tinoco, Armando (October 2, 2022). "'Bros': Billy Eichner Reacts To "Disappointing" Box Office Results & Shares He's "Proud Of This Movie!"". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on October 4, 2022. Retrieved October 3, 2022.
  36. ^ Gillis, Drew (January 9, 2023). "M3GAN boldly asks: remember fun?". Yahoo! Entertainment. Archived from the original on May 30, 2023. Retrieved May 29, 2023.
  37. ^ Charlie Grey, "Ts Madison on the ‘Bros’ backlash, her Beyoncé collab, and her brand new ‘Drag Race’ talk show". Queerty, October 17, 2022.
  38. ^ Placido, Dani Di (October 4, 2022). "Billy Eichner Courts Controversy On Twitter After 'Bros' Box Office Bomb". Forbes. Archived from the original on February 4, 2023. Retrieved February 19, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  39. ^ "Bros (2022)". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on June 17, 2008. Retrieved March 2, 2023.
  40. ^ "Bros Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on October 17, 2022. Retrieved November 1, 2022.
  41. ^ Alonso Duralde (September 23, 2022). "'Bros' Review: LGBTQ+ Rom-Com Makes History, Yes, But Also Delivers the Rom and the Com". TheWrap. Archived from the original on October 20, 2022. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
  42. ^ Marya E. Gates (September 30, 2022). "Bros Review". RogerEbert.com. Archived from the original on October 20, 2022. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
  43. ^ Clint Worthington (September 23, 2022). "Bros Refuses to Apologize for the Specifics of Queer Romance (Except When It Does): Review". Consequence. Archived from the original on October 20, 2022. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
  44. ^ Anderson, Erik (November 17, 2022). "Rihanna, Billy Eichner, Elvis, Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio top Hollywood Music in Media Awards (HMMA) winners". AwardsWatch. Archived from the original on November 18, 2022. Retrieved December 18, 2022.
  45. ^ Verhoeven, Beatrice (December 14, 2022). "Everything Everywhere All At Once Leads 2023 Critics Choice Awards Film Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on December 14, 2022. Retrieved December 14, 2022.
  46. ^ "Set Decorators Society of America Announces 2022 Film Nominations". Below the Line. January 5, 2023. Archived from the original on January 5, 2023. Retrieved January 6, 2023.
  47. ^ Anderson, Erik (December 15, 2022). "6th Hollywood Critics Association (HCA) awards: 'Everything Everywhere All at Once' emerges victorious". AwardsWatch. Archived from the original on June 2, 2023. Retrieved June 2, 2023.
  48. ^ "GLAAD Media Awards: 'Bros,' 'A League of Their Own' Take Top Prizes". The Hollywood Reporter. March 31, 2023. Archived from the original on April 7, 2023. Retrieved March 31, 2023.
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