EDGE Rewind: What Went Wrong? Analysts Examine Why 'Bros' Failed

The Variety reporters — Zack Sharf and William Earl — cite numerous reasons for the film's failure, beginning with its lack of star power. Eichner is a niche talent, famous for his web series "Billy on the Street" and the series "Difficult People." His co-star Luke Macfarlane is best-known for having been on the ABC television series "Brothers and Sisters" more than a decade ago. He subsequently became a go-to lead for romance movies on the Hallmark Channel (a genre mercilessly skewed in "Bros"). 

Sharf and Earl conclude that rom-coms need stars, citing some recent rom-coms: "Paramount's 'The Lost City' made it to the $105 million mark in the U.S. off the strength of pairing A-listers Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum (that it had adventure elements to its plot and a Brad Pitt cameo didn't hurt), while the George Clooney-Julia Roberts rom-com 'Ticket to Paradise' is already a hit overseas with $45 million ahead of its U.S. debut later this month. Without star power, a rom-com seems better off taking the streaming route than the theatrical route."

They add that the marketing likely hurt the film by emphasizing its landmark importance while ignoring its more fun aspects. "TV spots for 'Bros' prioritized a pull quote calling the film 'as hilarious as it is historic.' The point here is that 'Bros' marketing worked overtime to sell its importance as the first major LGBTQ studio comedy, but aggressively marketing a movie as a glass-ceiling breaker can make it feel like homework for viewers... While inclusivity and glass-ceiling breaking are important factors worth celebrating and can stir up interest in a movie, they can't be the sole focal point of a movie's marketing."

That a movie bearing the Judd Apatow brand wasn't marketed as a funny, sometimes raunchy R-rated comedy is something of a mystery. But Sharf and Earl point to another Apatow factor: "Given the film's lack of star power, many of the promotional materials cited 'Bros' producer Apatow as a major selling point. But his April film 'The Bubble,' a painfully unfunny riff on COVID culture that Netflix released, is sitting at career-low numbers on Rotten Tomatoes and IMDB from fans and critics alike. Could the superproducer's Midas Touch have diminished after his latest film failed to deliver?"

They also cite timing — why wasn't this movie released in the summer? October is the time for horror films, which "Bros" is far from. Was the studio hoping for some counter-programming by releasing the movie now? "Clearly rom-coms do not fly high at this time of year, and despite sneaking in to be released on the last day of September, Halloween fever had already overtaken pop culture."

Whether or not the release of "Hocus Pocus 2," "Blonde" and "Dahmer" affected "Bros" performance is something to consider. Entertainment Weekly reports that "'Dahmer - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story,' Ryan Murphy's scripted true-crime series starring Evan Peters and Niecy Nash, is now one of Netflix's most successful series of all time. The news comes just almost two weeks after it first debuted on Sept. 21, quickly garnering over 196 million hours of viewership within its first week."

At Forbes, film industry analyst Scott Mendelson agrees with Variety's assessment. "Alas, the trailers and much of the media coverage emphasized its importance, groundbreaking existence, and social value over whether the film is funny." In hitting "every LGBTQIA discussion point. The media coverage is symptomatic of a widespread pet peeve: every major celebrity profile emphasizes demographic triumph and aspirational empowerment ... That stuff may make the clients happy, including stories about how every new young actor is the next great leading man/woman on their way to conquering Hollywood and may drive social attention. However, it doesn't sell tickets."

He adds that "(w)ithout discounting widespread homophobia as an issue, 'Bros' was an original, R-rated, star-free romantic comedy released when even Kevin Hart, Will Ferrell and Melissa McCarthy now make their movies for Netflix NFLX -1.2%. Eichner is not a star, Stoller is not a marquee director and the only marketing hook this one had was 'the first mainstream LGBTQIA theatrical romantic comedy.'"

Mendelson continues that the film is two decades too late. "'Bros' should have existed (and might have flourished) 25 years ago, coming off the successes of 'The Birdcage' and 'In and Out.'"

At The Spectator, writer Tom Slater took issue with Eichner's tweet. "It cannot be, of course, that 'Bros' just didn't do that well — that it failed to connect with audiences or wasn't promoted as well as it could have been. No, all those moviegoers are the problem — and they should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves. Given we're all expected to believe that bigotry lies at the heart of everything and everyone these days, Eichner isn't even required to back up his own mad assertion."

He continues: "The irony of Eichner's comments is that they betray something else. When he damns those 'certain parts of the country' that supposedly took against his film you know instantly the places he's likely to be talking about — those towns full of rednecks and opioids, no doubt, starved of cultural riches and blighted by awful opinions. That this is coming from the man fronting a mainstream, big-studio movie is telling. Hollywood, often derided as playing to the lowest common denominator and chasing mass appeal, is apparently now comfortable with bashing audiences and telling them what's good for them. And if a film flops, you can just blame it on the audience."

But in the comments section of the downbeat New York Times review of the movie, a reader (identified as only "D") appears to reinforce Eichner's opinion. "I think Billy Eichner is hilarious. I've watched him for years. But I can't see myself going to see a movie about gay romance. As a straight man, I feel a deep, primitive revulsion at the sight of men engaged with each other in a physical, romantic way. I suspect that is also internal brain programming that cannot be changed."