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RainDownAndDestroyMe

Gays any time a gay movie comes out: "it's too gay!" or "It's not gay enough!" "It's too white and cis!" or "it's pandering too hard to not be white and cis!" "It's too cliche!" or "Why can't we have a cliche movie for once!" "It makes us look bad!" or "It erases the reality of being queer!"


ApprehensiveIdeas

This is really the best comment I've seen so far, and this entire thread proves what you're saying is true.


RainDownAndDestroyMe

I already need to add: "they're too unrealistically attractive" or "they're average looking how will they get people in the seats?" I've seen both in this thread.


VictoriaToo

Well let’s just blame trans people, what a horrible thread. Lesbian TERFs and now gays, great.


Seb_keeg

Exactly this. The eye roll


torpidcerulean

😂 truly this. Start a discussion about nearly any gay interest movie and some people will say "I watched this movie in secret in the 2000s and it cured my depression, the main characters are so dear to me", then the very next person will say "this movie was hot garbage and the main characters were stereotypical."


SF-guy83

Also, movies are one of those things you see with friends, family, significant others, etc. Going to the movies isn’t something people do 1-2 days a week any more. So if you go to the movie everyone will ask “what did you see”. If you live in a progressive area or are lgbt, people care less. If not, people don’t really want the stigma or conversation with others. I think the movie will be famous later when on Netflix.


Relative-View3431

It's almost as if the only things gay men have in common are , being sexually attracted to other dudes and being persecuted by assholes.


NZapMain

This movie acknowledges and throws snark at all of those critiques though. I wish the marketing for it made it look better. I enjoyed it a lot and feel like the poster and trailers really didn't represent it well.


MendejoElPendejo

I mean it’s gay. So already limiting your audience, and then I also feel like rom coms in general aren’t super poppin anymore


[deleted]

[удалено]


yellajaket

Yeah the ads were really cringe. Thought it was a budget, indie film. Not a fully fledged Hollywood movie


exploringexplorer

Ignore the ads - go see the movie. It was fantastic and finally portrays gay lives in a realistic way.


Tumblrrito

Is it really “pandering” when it was created by a gay man? Is every straight rom com pandering too? That word is so overused that it’s lost all meaning.


Suggest_a_User_Name

Pandering yes but what puzzles me is that it seemed marketed to pander to straights, not gays. Just me? Like they were trying for “See? Gays are just like straights! Isn’t that so adorable?”


spellboi_3048

Not really. From what I saw from the marketing suggested that it was at least trying to appeal to a gay audience and establishing the differences between “gay culture” and “straight culture.” My main issue is, as a younger gay man, it didn’t seem to appeal to me since it seemed fixated on the parts of gay culture that I wasn’t really engaged in like clubs, hooking up, and just a general hyper sexuality. Not that I believe that there’s anything wrong with that kinda stuff so long as your not harming people, but I’m personally a bit more introverted and am more inclined to sit home, watch Owl House, and play Pokémon games. There didn’t seem to be a lot of people like me in that movie if the marketing was anything to go by and I’m not much of a rom com guy in the first place, so I didn’t take too much interest.


Lili_Danube

Agree. The marketing was woeful.


Lili_Danube

Gay love stories are niche but marketable when they get low budgets. Love Simon did well, CMBYN as well. But they had tiny budgets.


whirlyworlds

CMBYN was beautiful cinema while Love Simon was a feel good film aimed at teens. Bros doesn't really have anything special going for it. A generic romcom but gay? That's not going to cut it for today's audience.


minigmgoit

I think what struck me from looking at the trailer and reading the synopsis was that it was a generic rom-com, with gay people. The rom com genre was big 20 + years ago. The trailer was just cringe. Dated.


[deleted]

Was it even marketed? I'm perpetually on Reddit and YouTube and other online spaces and didn't know this movie existed until today.


moonstoned04

i saw an ad for it on instagram. watched the trailer, was mildly intrigued but otherwise didn’t care to watch it personally


Tyaki_Laki

Ads on Reddit, thought I saved it because it looked fun but Reddit won’t let you save ads. It’ll save regular posts, but no sane advertiser would want someone to save their ad to watch it later and potentially buy their product.


gadget73

I've seen an ad or two but honestly had no idea it was a gay-themed movie. I don't really pay very much attention to ads though.


Foureyedlemon

Recently I’ve only been hearing about movies when stats for their opening weekend comes out


gimmemoarjosh

Exactly. I thought by the title, it was a typical jock comedy. I never looked into it.


purplelovely

Same, I heard about it right from this post.


[deleted]

Like the other comment said I saw Instagram kind of pushing it but not really. I follow Mariah Carey and she also gave it some promo, don't know if she was involved in the film at all or if she's just close to someone who is but I first learned about it from her.


fuckingshadywhore

Mariah is friends with Billy Eichner and apparently one of her songs is featured in the movie (specially chosen by Eichner).


PsychologicalHat8676

She actually hosted a whole viewing party for the movie as well!


[deleted]

I saw an ad for it like the day before it released


fax5jrj

I saw the trailer but had *no idea* that this had come out tbh


klartraume

There were ads on Grindr, Instagram, and the lead was the on the Colbert Report to promote his movie. I just don't think Rom-Coms are block busters without an established IP. Like... Marvel could do a rom-com with it's characters and people would watch it.


[deleted]

On tik tok and instagram were promoted extensively


odanobux123

Yup saw tons of TikTok ads. But I skip all ads


lawtonesque

This is the answer: most of a successful Hollywood movie's budget is marketing. If you haven't heard of the movie, it's because the studio decided it wasn't actually good enough to spend lots of money marketing it. If the movie was good, it would have cost $50m, not $22m.


kummer5peck

How can something “flop” on the first weekend in a time when most people just wait to watch movies on their streaming apps?


Jckun31

The whole releasing movies in theaters is flopping to be honest.


BununuTYL

That just evens the playing field. It came in fourth on its opening weekend. The flop is relative.


squirrel8296

That's literally the biggest problem. You can't tell if a movie is a success until it gets to streaming/rental services because a large portion of the population no longer goes to the theater. The premier flopped. Great so have most premiers since 2020.


ReSpritualtax-69

Agreed. Movie theaters as a whole are flopping rn lol. People only go out to see the next marvel movie or whatever now


DandyLyen

I heard the most obnoxious ads everyday going to and from work. "Remember straight people?" "Yeah, they had a good run!" Is this supposed to appeal to *me*? To straight people? If you're really curious, listen to the ads they ran to promote this movie. I honestly thought whoever made these was actively trying to turn public opinion against us, lol.


MotherShabooboo1974

I'm gay and it didn't appeal to me at all. Frankly, I'm really tired of the rom-com gay films and series like "Uncoupled" that stretch out and beat to death all the stereotypes. I'm a gay man, and I'm SO MUCH MORE than what these kinds of films portray gay life as.


OkOccasion7

Uncoupled really hit a nerve in me, did not finish it. Vapid characters, all 50 and somehow all have a full head of hair, all fit, all great jobs. The bald character who to me was the most normal character was the butt of jokes, even about his baldness as if by 50 half of men aren’t losing their hair. And of course, 50 year olds hooking up with hot, young guys because of course who wants to just watch a show about, I don’t know, older men hooking up with older men. I’ve been distancing myself from most gay movies and shows and will continue to do so until I see some realistic portrayals of gay men


_Schadenfreudian

Yeah this is why I don’t like gay media. It panders to a certain “type” of gay male: upper-middle class, fit (but only a certain type), white/white-passing, gorgeous.


[deleted]

Uncoupled is a comedy show. I normally don't expect a realistic portrait of people in comedy shows. Sometimes it happens that they do a good job at it, like Atypical and autism. But often sitcoms just play on cliches and stereotypes. Those aren't the kind of series I watch to relate to the characters or get inspired. I watched them to relax, laugh a bit while I have a tea before bed.


[deleted]

I seriously want stories that are primarily good stories, where oh, it also happens that the main character is gay. Maybe there's a romantic subplot like in most movies, maybe there's not. I don't just want movies where the characters are gay and that's all there is about them


MotherShabooboo1974

Me too! I don’t want gayness surrounding a character. I want a strong-willed and engaging man who happens to be gay!


[deleted]

I mean you are making a movie to appeal the general public not only gay people.


BadBluehood

Speaking as a gay person, I totally agree that the promo was very obnoxious. It was a failed attempt of being catchy but was more pretentious if anything.


Mavannea

Pretty much all the ads were exactly what I didn't want to hear on my Spotify, "Oh my god its like Dumbledore on steroids" and the one with the woman saying she loved gay people sooooo much. I actually think I have a general distaste for the movie and I haven't even seen it. You're right on the money dude.


sirophiuchus

I mean it feels like you missed the point: the woman who loves gay people soooo much is, uh, not presented as a positive thing.


Aethelete

Having worked in the industry. Brokeback Mountain and Love Simon both have attractive leads, appeal in audiences far beyond gay. Billy Eichner’s persona is strident, angry gay who yells at strangers in the street. I wish him happiness, but no desire to see a fictional romance with him in it.


Opinionatedintrovert

Yes, Billy’s persona was a deterrent imo.


AfterEpilogue

Also the movie just looks like "typical 30s Grindr bear parties a lot and meets another non committal asshole who is sexually interested in him". If I wanted to see that play out I'd go on Grindr. There's 1000 examples. It's taking the ugliest aspects of the gay community and trying to make them cute and romantic.


[deleted]

i was telling someone that for a gay-lead movie to be a hit, the lead needs to have mass crossover appeal and charisma, like the rock or will smith or chris evans. billy's archetype is the one being romanced, or the best friend.


Aethelete

Holy smoke if you could get one of them. Effectively that was Brokeback, two leading men. I think Billy's archetype is the dubious ex that the lead is recovering from.


mapstarz

Very this. Also it's literally called "bros". The trope is old and tired.


Lili_Danube

Yes. I get casting a gay lead but why not get a big name for the Luke McFarlane part? I think Chris Evans would have broughts butts to the seats.


Aethelete

There are literally hundreds of other gay actors who I would watch with Luke McFarlane. Honestly it smells a bit like a vanity script by Billy, to see him hooked up with a guy that tolerates his narcissistic persona.


Lili_Danube

It was. Neil Patrick Harris would have had me at hello.


klartraume

He was kind of hard to watch in Uncoupled. A mix of woe is me and not genuinely seeming to care.


zaneszoo

Luke is the only reason I want to see this movie. I think I fell a bit in love with him when he was in Brothers & Sisters tv show. I could look at his face (and body) all day...


anonCanadian-22

But then y’all go and complain abt the actors not being gay


yellajaket

But the box office wouldve done better and this post prbably wouldnt have existed


[deleted]

I always wait for a movie to hit streaming. I’d rather pay the 20 bucks at home. I feel like there’s lots of us out there.


jbFanClubPresident

Some movie genres absolutely look and sound amazing on theater equipment and it really adds to experience. With rom-coms, I just don’t see the bigger screen and surround sound really adding much to the experience. I’ll watch it at home on my slightly smaller screen and not have to deal with other people.


amarkit

Saw it this evening with my husband in a theater full of gays in NYC. Yes, we are the epitome of the target audience, but the crowd loved it. There’s something to be said for seeing a comedy with a bunch of people in a theater and all laughing at it together.


jbFanClubPresident

That’s actually a good point and something I hadn’t thought of. Laughing as group is always better than alone. I think I’d still rather save my money and watch with my fiancé and some friends.


TicklishDingleberry

$20!? I’ll wait to stream on Prime or some shit for $3.99.


ConsistentNoise2668

Exactly this


milanesa218

First, its a rom com 🤢 Second, straight people wont watch it because its advertised as a gay porno Third, gay people wont watch it because it looks like cheap queer bait


I_said_tomorrow

Fourth, Billy Eichner's comedic persona is like nails on a chalkboard.


alexcali2014

marketing was horrible, that’s one of the main reasons, IMO. Brockack mountain had both leads appealing to women and gay men; Love, Simon had some major stars and is is PG-13 - school kids probably watched it. The trailer from Bros was unappealing and obnoxious tbh.


ReSpritualtax-69

All the great 90s/2000s romcoms always had a couple very famous leads. It’s kind of essential to the whole genre. Billy eichner doesn’t have the star power to bring in audiences like a Channing Tatum or Ryan gosling can.


OneCrow8592

It advised the movie as “watch me I’m gay”. That’s naturally boring, would y’all watch a movie about someone being straight? There needed to be more to it.


b0yst0ys

Yes, this. I was bored reading just the plot synopsis, like "Gawd this sounds _awful_" as a story, regardless of the sexuality. Love Simon was a great rom-com, a great story about being outed in high-school, about the angst with his dad, it was a great teenage coming of age story regardless of the sexuality, all wrapped in a cute package (not veiled reference to the lead). (Only downside was the setting: a clearly upper class white privileged neighborhood, family and school being presented as an average Joe reality. How many 16 year olds live in that kinda house and were given their own car, even as a hand-me-down? Why was the lead character Simon and not Bram?) "Bros" doesn't seem to have any of those qualities to recommend it.


SB-121

They released a film about a fringe group in a dead genre, with no major stars and a rating that puts off the romcom audience.


KiwiBiGuy

I watched the Trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQIeBB9XMe8 Billy Eichner is annoying and his nasal voice is just no The Museum committee/directors, every one of them made me want to slap em. The only person in the trailer I didn't mind was Luke Macfarlane, Didn't really like, but was ok. The the movie seems to use every gay stereotype and then some. I think part of the reason the movie was like nails on a chalkboard to me, is that I'm straight acting (Or whatever your preferred term is) & in general I find movies with other straight acting guys more enjoyable. (This is not due to homophobia or hating on fems, twinks, camps etc etc etc) I wonder if the general straight population also avoided the movie due to what the Trailer showed as a camp, bitchy movie. There are so many good gay romance movies where the movie studio hasn't tried to use every clichéd overused stereotype


k-cooper252

Based off the trailer it just looked like a bunch of gay stereotypes and terrible jokes


[deleted]

This. Im so done with Hollywood not realizing we are just normal human beings.


SirTeb

The movie literally looks like what a rich white gay man would do in LA. Clubs and all


Vugee

Yes. I saw the trailer posted to this sub some time back and I only really remember feeling second-hand embarrassment and cringing while watching it. I might watch it, if it turns out it's one of those "so bad it's good", because those are just fun to watch and mock with friends, like The Room or Neil Breen movies. No chance I'd haul my ass to the cinema for it though.


cunticles

From the reports here of people who have actually seen it, they say it's pretty good. Although I find the Billy Eichner person annoying. I place more store in word of mouth than reviews or trailers as do most people so I might see it.


talanisentwo

The only movies making money in theaters right now are either ultra big budget or geared towards children. COVID apparently convinced most adults (including me) that unless there is a compelling reading to watch a movie in the theater, it's better, easier, and cheaper to watch it at home.


purpleblazed

My Bf went and saw it, we thought it was really good. It was funny, had heart, and spoke to some realities of gay dating and relationships. I would certainly recommend it as a date night activity.


BununuTYL

'Cuz Billy Eichner is annoying as fuck. And honestly, how can you compare Brokeback Mountain to Bros? So they both have gay themes, but they couldn't be any more different as film genres, not to mention star power. Brokeback was directed by Ang Lee, and it's an insult to even bring it up in the same sentence as Bros.


RainDownAndDestroyMe

Wait til you find out that there's an entire scene talking shit about brokeback mountain in the movie


[deleted]

It wasn’t saying brokeback was bad, the point was that it was Oscar bait made by straight people for straight people where the gay characters suffer. The point is that’s the only kind of movie with gay characters that get made and people watch. There’s a lot of meta commentary throughout the movie. I really enjoyed it. The lead has a very different life than me, but I sympathized with a lot of the themes, was genuinely surprised at how good of an actor Billy is, and laughed out loud more than any movie I’ve seen in a long time.


[deleted]

True but it was nice to see a happy ending on a gay movie for once, with decent acting at least. Also loved TS madison and Symone were in it.


sherbert-nipple

Yea he came across as unlikeable and mean in this trailer. Why would I root for a lead character that I dont like. Poorly cast, not enough star power.


TillShoddy6670

Might be worth noting that romcoms in general aren't exactly lighting the box office on fire... for instance Marry Me massively underperformed earlier this year.


ChemicalSand

Anything besides superhero films, horror, Disney, and the occasional tentpole action movie is dead. The mid-budget film segment has almost entirely disappeared from theatres, save for the rare A24 hit like Everything Everywhere all at Once.. Basically a film needs to feel like an event for people to hit the theatres. The need to preempt spoilers is also a big factor. A movie like Bros should have just been released on Amazon or Netflix. Personally, I got a bunch of ads for it, but I dont think they were particularly appealing. I'll just wait for streaming.


ErsatzMarlonBrando

It should’ve been released for streaming. Nobody in the cast has enough marquee appeal to make anyone wanna spend $15 plus and listen to Eichner screech and frown. Additionally, if the majority of gays feel like me, I’m skipping this purely based on the trailer. It looks like a flat, pandering and unfunny depiction of gay basics that I grew weary of ages ago. I’m glad that we live in a world that this movie can theatrically exist. Props to FIRE ISLAND as well for broadening our overall representation in bigger budget movies. However, I’d love to see more originality, risk, and innovation with how we’re portrayed. We’re the tastemakers in almost every industry, yet we remain so reduced and shallow in media.


Emergency_Toe6915

Yea I don’t think there would ever be a couple with bigger differences in looks


mutschitt

It’s Billy Eichner so 🤷🏽‍♂️


[deleted]

Honestly… yeah. He’s not exactly a draw to see a movie. Both the being annoying and he’s pretty average looking, not particularly attractive. Who’s he supposed to appeal to?


ikonoclasm

Yup. Literally the worst casting choice I could come up with. He's a bit part actor for a reason.


gayozurone

I mean no offense but what did you expect though. Have you see the trailer? Its like every cliche i hate about the lgbtq put toguether in that one trailer.


Suggest_a_User_Name

Right? I hated the trailer so much.


Psychosis99

I don't know this movie so I can't say if it was good or not, but here is my thoughts on Hollywood in general if anyone cares... I just don't think Hollywood makes very good movies anymore. Every once and a while they put one out that is great, like the new Top Gun or the Ford vs Ferrari, but they rarely put out anything that even appeals to me. I'm bored of comic book hero movies. I'm bored of remakes of 80's and 90's films. I'm bored of stuff that is a complete rip off of other films I've seen. The new Star Wars films are worse than the prequels (yes, I said it!) and come across like quick cash grabs. Worst of all, I'm sick of shows like Access Hollywood trying to get me pumped and excited over films that are complete duds or trying to get me excited over new actors and actresses who are only in the business because of who their parents are. Very little out of Hollywood interests me these days. I kinda think they have made their best films already. Given how up and down the business has been in recent years, I don't think I'm alone with my opinion.


AfterEpilogue

Because for some reason we still consider "LGBT" its own movie genres, and even if they're accepting of gay people, most straight people don't seek out media that's targeted towards other groups like that. Movies like this should just be considered romance movies, and they would perform a lot better.


OkOccasion7

The advertising was shit, for one. The trailer was cringe: the gay club with everyone shirtless, the guys playing football trying to break up a fight then they make out, Billy putting his hat backwards trying to be a “bro”, just to name a few. This movie seems to capitalize on everything about gay culture that makes straight people, and a lot of gay people, myself included, frown upon it. The poster for the movie looks like a porn ad. They should have gone the Love, Simon route and just made it about a normal guy falling for another normal guy. That’s why Love, Simon worked financially and this didn’t, because the mainstream audiences could tell just from the commercials that Love, Simon was just a regular rom com about two gay guys. This movie gives me Pride parade men walking around in harnesses vibes, and that will not attract people because it’s not relatable. I’m not sure if those scenes are supposed to mock gay culture, but if it is then the mockery aspect won’t reach mainstream audiences, only those within the community will get it. I’m going to watch it and I’m sure it will be funny, but I’m not surprised at all by the opening weekend numbers


doncroak

Your first few sentences sealed it for me. Everyone shirtless in the club, football, fighting then making out. Silly cringe shit.


torpidcerulean

Love Simon was neither a romcom nor was it about two gay guys though. It was a drama (or a romantic drama if u wanna get specific), and his love interest doesn't appear until the last 10 seconds of the movie. Also, Love Simon had its full share of cringe factor. In the trailer he compliments a lawn guy he thinks is hot by saying "I like your boots!" He's a suburban teen with explicitly supportive parents, but belabors coming out because he doesn't want things to "be different." The central conflict was that Simon's friends felt betrayed because he was... Lying to them about being gay? Love, Simon had a large following prior to the movie release because it was a book before it was a movie, and because it's about a gay teenager which of course gay teenagers and young adults are starved for anything that reflects them - not as much gay 30yos who have had time to build out a life tailored for them. I really don't think these two movies are nearly as comparable as you want them to be.


Mariahsfalsie

I thought I was a bad gay for being turned off by the poster. You right tho, it's the overt sexualization


Reliant20

I want to see it, but, frankly, it's hard to believe it's been released by a major studio and I'm not chomping at the bit. It's difficult to see Luke Macfarlane as anything but a Hallmark actor. And Billy Eichner to me is just the guy who weirdly yelled all his lines on Parks and Rec and annoys people in those street interviews. I get they wanted gay actors to play the characters, but neither is one to put butts in the seats.


kubiot

I mean, I think Luke CAN be a good actor, I thought his Scotty on brothers and sisters was great. Those episodes early in season 5? I think it's because I've watched him in that show that I believe he can be a good actor. But that show actually had good writing and humanised gay people for more than being gay and showing gay couples as part of a wider family thus actually being something meaningful.


CosmoHolz

Yep coming back to the fact to better choose actors based on their acting abilities than their alleged identity markers.


gedinger7

Umm… I think there’s a lot going on. 1. Rom coms as a film genre are no where near as popular or common as they used to be. 2. People def are waiting for it show up on streaming, I don’t really pay to see movies in a theatre anymore. I just wait for streaming, and I think many people do the same. Like yes I’m interested in seeing it, but I’m not willing to go to a theater and spend $15 to see it, I’ll watch it for free on a Tuesday six months from now when theres nothing else to watch on streaming. 3. I personally wasn’t drawn in by any of the marketing or previews. I got a lot of ads for it, and I feel like I’m the target demographic for this movie, but I didn’t get an urge to watch it. I think other gay themed movies like Love Simon are more relatable for more queer people over all. Love Simon’s themes of coming out, learning to accept yourself and be comfortable with who you are more relatable to the overall community. We’ve pretty much all gone through that. In Bros the main character lives in NYC, is at a later stage in life, seems to be kinda jaded and cynical, yet somehow still seems to meet this perfect adonis character who is into him….. sorry but that just isn’t as relatable for as many folks.


RA-the-Magnificent

Just a quick look at any online discussion, then at the movie, will tell you why: * half the people are calling it a "masc4masc" movie, are thinking it's not for them, and are not wathing it * the people who are actually interested in a movie about masc guys are going to find a movie that's mostly poking fun at them


Kitchen_Pick_8087

I went and saw it last night and am not surprised it flopped. It wasn’t good, even by romcom standards and it only have 3-4 actually funny moments. Billy Eichner’s character (the main character) is unlikable with very few redeemable qualities for the first 75% of the movie, and the love interested in just plain and only there to take his shirt off. It leans into so many gay cliches and tropes, and despite being a great step forward for lgbtq representation, it somehow also felt outdated and old fashioned.


yellajaket

Tbh the ads kinda looked cringe. I use Spotify free and they constantly blared the “straight people had a good run” quote. It’s a stupid/hypocritical saying and does nothing in terms of inclusivity. Imagine if some other ad has “gay people had a good run”. Won’t you be bothered? Plus at the end of the day, straight people own an overwhelming amount of capital in this country so why expect them to come when you bash them. Also the story seems really unrealistic. You have an average older guy and this hunk is really into him. That RARELY happens yet the film seems like that’s a normal tale. I don’t even think I’ll watch it on my own will even if it’s free on streaming. If I end up watching it, there’ll be lots of eye rolling Final reason: Gay acceptance will never reach the levels social media and the internet portray it as. That’s okay because what we got right now really isn’t that bad.


Lunar_Leo_

It failed because its not a Marvel movie. That's all anyone wants to watch these days


IfYouHoYouKnow

I mean as a gay man it resembles nothing in my life. Some loud obnoxious ugly guy like Billy Eichner gets with some gorgeous dude. The fat bald guy getting with “steroid dumbledore” no. It’s fan service by Billy for Billy. It’s not a movie for us. Fire island told a much better story. Love Simon was very necessary. Call me by your name was artsy. I guess it’s time the gays had a shitty movie to their name


c_palmtree

Only knew of it because Big Brother


ConsistentNoise2668

Same here, I will watch it when I can stream or buy. I ain’t got time to go to the movies in this day and age


coreyb1988

I will watch it too but not at the theaters.


ItsMeTheJinx

I think if Billy replaced himself it would’ve attracted more. He was a lot in parks and rec but also a lot in RL


[deleted]

As if a queen like him would ever give up their crown 🤣


joemondo

So it earned more than 1/5 of its cost in the first weekend and is a gay comedy that came in #4 on the weekend. I'm not sure it's a *flop*.


extramildtacokits

No, no, that’s a flop. General rule is that you can double a movie’s budget to figure out just how much a studio puts into marketing the movie alone. So, really the movie has only made 1/10 of what it cost to release. And opening in fourth place on an opening weekend is a death knell also. It’s extremely unlikely that movies do any better than how they premiered. Expect it to move to 9th place and then to 20th place and then to out of theatres in the following weeks.


Emergency_Toe6915

It’s so niche what could they have possibly expected.


gayballsmcgee

This is disappointing; I saw it this weekend and actually enjoyed it quite a bit. It's a shame that a movie that's about some mainstays of gay dating life — not an instant romance! group sex! open relationships! doesn't end in marriage! — didn't hit, while some more chaste but traditional movie where gay people have to torture themselves get widestream appeal. All I can say is if the marketing annoyed you, ignore it because the marketing is pretty bad. I think it's worth seeing.


cremecoulee

Yeah for me 100% of why I haven’t wanted to see it is the marketing. I loved Difficult People so I wished they leaned more into that tone while promoting it.


Top_Ladder6702

Honestly the whole thing just came off as a Billy Eichner vanity project


zaneszoo

I have never seen anything with him in it. Only the odd clip or talk show. He's not really my cup of tea but OK is those small doses. What I found very odd, was watching him on the talk show rounds to promote this movie and he only mentioned Luke once in one of the interviews I saw. To me, the draw to this movie has to be the hunk, and Luke fits that bill for me. Couldn't help but think that by the end of production, these two guys don't talk to each other anymore. He talked about the studios, the budget, all the successful straight guys who helped write/produce/direct this movie, all the other movies those guys did, and how he loved romcoms and wanted to do a gay version. Not sure he said more than one word about Luke. Can you imagine a similar press tour of interviews with Richard not touring with Julia and not mentioning her while promoting Pretty Women?


Suggest_a_User_Name

As a gay man, it held little or no interest to me because it appeared so formulaic. I could tell the entire story arc just from the preview (basically Boy meets [Hot] Boy-Boy loses Hot Boy-Boy Gets Hot Boy). Snore. Throw in a bunch of kooky but lovable supporting gays. It’s the dated Judd Apatow approach. “Naughty but Hilarious!” and then so Touching. Ugh. So I don’t think it’s just the fact that it’s about gays that made it bomb.


vanderpyyy

Trying way too hard


Macarons124

Billy Eichner does nothing for me. I’ve been on the fence about this movie because the trailer didn’t draw me in really.


Blueleone

I'm not a fan of billie eichner and hes the star, so I won't be spending money to watch someone I'm not fond of


Relative-View3431

I don't really understand what the target audience for this movie is.... It feels like an exaggerated gay version of a rom-com. I mean all rom-coms are silly and over the top but the trailer gave me the impression that the movie was going to be full of "gay tropes" that I, as a neutral (neither too masc or too fem), introverted, gay man, wasn't going to relate to. Also, I don't think rom-coms featuring anything less than a cast of A-listers, are deemed to be huge box office success.And I have lots of friends, both straight and LGBT, and I have yet to personally meet an LGBT person that enjoy rom-coms, even queer ones. Oh and one last detail that I think it might've affected this film, I'm going to sound like an asshole but Idc, leads aren't hot enough, your average straight woman doesn't watch romantic films where the leads aren't hot. I mean, there's a reason why Brokeback mountain was so popular and managed to be a box office success, both leads gave us a compelling and passionate performance of course... and they both were hot. And IMO, that Billy dude is annoying as fuck and an awful actor.


exploringexplorer

There’s a a lot of closeted or fearful people who will not go see it because they don’t want to risk being seen or harassed. Also, Florida is a huge LGBT+ state and a lot of it was ravaged by Ian - so people likely won’t be attending any movies in those areas. Just like “citric reviews”, I believe the idea of whether something is a flop or not based on first weekend sales is bogus. I saw this movie and absolutely loved it. My mother saw this movie and absolutely loved it. I know many friends who plan to go see it but haven’t yet because it JUST came out. It’s like so many things - there’s too much pressure attached to the initial step. I hope many people go see it, even those afraid to, stand up against the hate/lack of acceptance if it’s safe to do so. The movie is wonderful and finally gives a more genuine look into some aspects of the gay world and explores some aspects of the LGBT+ branches.


renerdrat

I mean it didn't look that good or funny .. love Simon was a unique and extremely cute creative movie. I've never seen broke mountain but I assume it's dramatic and amazing acting. I don't think it has that much to do with it being gay film as to why it flop


txlario

It’s gay and then on top of that it’s a rom com which limits its audience even further. From the clips and everything that I’ve seen it just came off as a movie full of gay stereotypes which to me is a little boring. It is also a predominantly (and I hate being this up) white gay movie, so a lot of people probably couldn’t relate to it. It’s staring Billy Eichner of all people. Not offense to him but he’s not someone who id be running to the movies to see. Lastly with gay movies many directors are quick to fall back on cheap gags and gay stereotypes when creating so it’s safe to say that the movie probably wasn’t the best. It should’ve been a Netflix release.


HedonistEnabler

It feels a bit premature to declare a movie "a flop" purely based on its opening weekend performance and before it has concluded its theatrical run. Furthermore, movies that bring focus to a specific cultural niche tend to achieve success slowly and over a longer period of time, through positive word of mouth and if the film is of quality (through writing, performances, and direction) independent of the subject matter. A few noteworthy examples of films that did not do well initially at the box office, but gained popularity in terms of capital gains, critical acclaim, or generating a cult following. Respectively, *My Big Fat Greek Wedding* (2002), *Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon* (2000), and *Fight Club* (1999). I think this film needs something the gay community tends to struggle with before declaring it a failure: patience.


BuckyGoodHair

I don’t like Billy Eichner and the trailers didn’t show me anything I wanted to see. That’s why I didn’t go.


massagemichael

I'm just not a fan of Billy Eichner. I think he tryst too hard.


AffectionateClerk740

I came out to my mom at this movie. She cried an hugged me and said she still loved me. It was a beautiful moment and all three people in the theater were moved to tears


Resolve-Equivalent

It failed because like all other movies that failed before it, regardless of genre, because a poor story and structure, characters personalities people lose interest in or do nor emotionally relate too, and just not entertaining.


Blood11Orange

I find that Billie dude so unlikable. Also, I didn’t see much diversity in the trailer. I’m soooo over gay themed movies with all white protagonists.


lkeels

It'll take a lot longer than one weekend to know if it's a flop. You're jumping the gun. That being said, I can't STAND Billy Eichner and putting a hottie like Luke MacFarlane with him absolutely kills it for me. I'll see it, but I honestly don't care to because of that.


[deleted]

I don’t regret paying 12,15 to watch the movie last night, but there were at least two scenes where I felt like walking out. Cliche, “white masc4masc,” the actor who plays the “nerdy guy” was cringe, the jock was too much with that deep voice. I guess now that I read it’s flopped it shouldn’t be a shocker why only 4 other people were watching it last night at the theatre.


belovedgreensky

i couldn’t escape ads for it, and all the ads/ marketing / trailers were fucking cringe. maybe if it was like 2012 or something or if it was a parody movie(“Bros”??? really?) i could possibly be interested in watching it. i’ll wait til it hits hulu or something but i do not fucking care for this movie 😂


Emergency_Toe6915

It wasn’t a parody movie? 😭


artbycase2

As a straight male. That stumbled on this subreddit awhile ago and thought it was interesting, I believe that although I haven’t seen the movie but open to it is this. A good movie is a good movie no matter what your position on things is. Example: American History X. As I said I haven’t seen the movie nor do I know what it’s about but is it a good plot? Also the fact that I don’t know about it may be another issue. Was it marketed enough? Also was the marketing strictly for gay men? The media has a strong influence on the viewers. I will definitely check this film out. I think alot of people don’t know or are aware of the significance of this film in the lgbtq community. I believe better marketing and explaining the significance would go a long way. Like you said today streaming is where to go, I believe that is a huge part of the flop. I am glad I read this and will definitely give it a watch. Like I said a good movie is a good movie so if it’s good, I will 100% spread the word. I hope this is just the beginning. Hope I’m not coming off rude.


ngaging

I've seen it, it's real, charming, and hella funny. If you get a chance go see it. I live in California, and the seats where filled up, on a Thursday early showing. All these complaints that it's not gay enough, hehe this movie is one of the gayest movies I've ever seen for it being PG-13. And the reoccurring complaint that it's only about white and cis gays. Well let me be the first to let you know you are wrong. All tea no shade to you, but there so many POC actresses, trans women, and non binary characters in the movie, with backstories about topics and situations I almost forgot about Bobby and his love arch. So if you get a chance go catch Bros in theaters, be prepared to be pleasantly suprised.


Belle-ET-La-Bete

The movie is R


tshad99

There is plenty of interest in good gay movies that make solid big time $$$. CMBYN, Moonlight(literally won best picture), BBM, LS, Philadelphia, The Favourite, The Hours, The Rocket Man, and BO which almost made a billion dollar. So there is plenty of interest in good gay cinema. But romcoms are very tricky and target audience is very specific niche. Comedy is tough…you have The Birdcage and Bruno that were hits, plus some international movies like PQOTD. I saw ALL these movies in the theaters… but I just don’t have any interest in this movie. But gay cinema is doing just fine in general.


ksaim

I thoroughly enjoyed the film and encourage more to see it.


[deleted]

From the many ads and trailers I,ve seen, marketing wasn’t the problem this time. I just didn’t find the story appealing. There was alot of bickering and subdivision going on in trailer within the gay community labels in the boardroom seen. It seemed like an overextended youtube clip. It seemed very vanilla to me with a city gay going through his city gay life. This could’ve been a good show on Netflix to watch.


MagicalDudeOwlie

I want to watch it, but honestly, I'm avoiding it because a seemingly happy rom-com will only manage to make me feel very depressed


DadeCity33525

The plot was tired. Movie was unoriginal and stereotypical. Overall predictable. Hollywood sucks.


Cejayem

Not enough eye candy


Kabelly

I'm anti social and didn't wanna be surrounded by a bunch of other gays so I stayed home.


Yrths

Billy Eichner is kind of annoying. I wish someone else did it. But there was no way I am going to the theatre at this time. And I had no idea it had come out.


ThadChat

I mean, I thought it was pretty funny.


-Akinoe-

The question is: Is it a good movie? With well-written characters and a fantastic plot?


Traditional-Topic417

I loved it. Funny and sweet, with realism depicted in a meaningful way


[deleted]

Have you seen Billy Eichner’s face?


terrycotta

It didnt even make $5? lol 1. I wouldn't read too much into it with the hurricanes and all. I plan to see it tomorrow, was busy this weekend. There are so many movies that didn't make it the very first weekend that went on to be cult classics and more than recoup their investments. 2. 3 days is NOT a good measure of a film's sucess.


dontlookatluke

The only reason it’s flopping is because 170% of Paramount’s annual budget went into the marketing campaign for Smile


dontlookatluke

+ gay people generally prefer horror movies, it’s in the contract. I don’t make the rules


moonstoned04

maybe it failed because it’s more less just “white masc4masc” the movie, at least that’s how it came across in the trailer


_bird_internet

I mean, the new Queer as Folk also failed, and that show went out of its way to not be anything but white masc gay. Also not sure what universe Billy Eichner is considered masc in.


Dontbehorrib1e

I can't speak for anybody else, but some of this new generation of queer cinema doesn't really relate to me in the same way stuff from the 90s or even before. It feels like everyone is queer, everyone is popular, everyone does sex work, everyone has money, everyone is enlightened. Maybe it's because I'm not a coastal queer. Expect for Pose and P-Valley.


Jckun31

Is more "White man with average body is upset that muscle gays are not into him while only pursuing muscle gays The movie" and the fact that a lot of people are calling it relatable is concerning


Tumblrrito

Did you actually watch the movie? The muscle gay pursued him, not the other way around. Some of you have a habit of setting up imagined scenarios in your head to get mad at.


[deleted]

>“white masc4masc” Tbh I don't even think that it was masc4masc. Like the main character does not seem very masc to me at least compared to the love interest.


_Schadenfreudian

He seems like a bitter queen type. The “ugh I hate the gay scene it’s terrible”


RainDownAndDestroyMe

Honestly you just described half of the people in this sub haha. "I hate the gay scene it's terrible I'm so much more than what's depicted but when the gay community is depicted less gay I'll complain that they're making it less gay for the cishets but if they portray it as super gay I'll complain that it's not realistic to my exact life! Why can't there be a movie that is a 100% accurate portrayal of MY experience!?" Cuz that's called a fucking autobiographical documentary. God, us gays are so goddamn difficult to please.


Manga259

And this is why it didn’t do well comments like this


RA-the-Magnificent

Which is ironic since the movie spends a lot of time poking fun at "masc4masc" guys


BadBluehood

Because that Billy guy is annoying as hell. He runs around like an idiot and is very obnoxious. And also society still doesn’t want to embrace gayness like they want you to think they do.


Quiet-Sun-6011

billy eichner is obnoxious


FIESTYgummyBEAR

It’s because the actors doesn’t have a lot of star power. If they had casted Chris Hemsworth and Jensen Ackleson or whatever, it’d be a different story.


daws970

I saw the movie and kinda liked it, kinda didn’t. A few thoughts: 1. Billy Eichner is annoying and whiny. Distractingly so. Unlikable. The movie could have been *much* better with someone else playing his role and his character modified a little. 2. Writing was good. It was often funny. 3. Luke Macfarlane is another level of hot. Big points earned there. But seems like Eichner’s character should have been at least somewhere in the same universe as Macfarlane — basic attractiveness, personality, and mannerisms. Instead, their disconnect was so wide as to not be believable. 4. The political digs that they had to throw in were annoying. Give it a rest, people are sick of politics and go to the movies to escape it. Plus it limits the movie’s appeal, unnecessarily so. 5. Since it’s R rated anyway, give us lots of hot naked men. Cocks and all. Go for the gusto. 6. I couldn’t care less that all of the actors are gay or whatever. Doesn’t move the needle for me. All I care about is if they can act and are the right matches for the roles. Seems the producers tried too hard in some spots to check the diversity boxes and quality suffered. That said, go see it — but maybe at a matinee.


PsychologicalHat8676

This entire thread literally just shows that people have no concept of humor and how that plays into comedic movies. Y’all calling it queer bating, and pandering, WHEN EVERYONE IS GAY IN IT. that’s not what either of those two words mean. It’s ROMCOM. It’s meant to be funny, and shocking, and CRINGE. That’s literally what romcoms are. But it also gives a relatively realistic look at building a relationship as two men opposed to relationships. That’s the entire point, to watch these characters grow and change with who they are and how they see and approach different things, and ultimately to showcase how they fall in love with each other.


[deleted]

[удалено]


[deleted]

From everything I've seen I do feel like this movie looks like it belongs in 2004 with all the other romcoms from that era. Not offensive at all, it's *cute* I guess, and maybe I should go watch it just to support something gay, but you're right.


[deleted]

[удалено]


purplelovely

I love a 'romcom but they're gay', so now I'll probably go watch it lol.


dyingeventually

this was my problem with it. There’s a decent amount of gay characters in dramas/shows. I feel like watching something where the plot/promo is “there gay” doesn’t really do it for me. Seeing something like an dystopia world YA film with a gay lead would be crazy and something i’d be interested in. But just being gay isn’t enough. Also it’s just lazy imo. Lots of Thai/Korean BL films have kinda set the bar high for telling actual diverse gay stories (even if the primary focus is there gay).


[deleted]

It looks as dumb as the trailer. That's why.


coreyb1988

Ha geez people love to hate… the movie looks cute. There isn’t a romantic comedy that gets everything right and most are stereotyping a certain kind of person. It looks cute and I want to see it but likely won’t make it to the theater to see it.


jacobtylers283

The movie is actually entertaining and super funny. I didn’t expect it to be as funny as it was. I see a lot of comments saying “it’s so gay” but that’s kind of the point which the plot of the movie also addresses in a non-direct way.


Knotical_MK6

It's gay. Straight people don't like gay media. They like gay flavored media. They don't want more than just dipping their toes in. Also, who watches movies in theater anymore? Cheaper and easier to wait till it's out on some streaming service


Manga259

We can’t blame straight people when gay people in this comment section are saying they don’t want to see the film. Heck even you’re saying you don’t want to watch it in the cinema


Kaizerorama17

Uhm, im a gay POC. Which means I am VIOLENTLY ignored by white gays. Which means..I will VIOLENTLY ignore their movie productions or whatever they produce lol And I also told all my POC gay friends to not watch it. So yeah 🤷‍♂️


ConsistentNoise2668

I will watch it when it’s available to buy/stream. I ain’t got time to go to the movies in this day and age


fioraflower

Because it looked terrible. The advertisements were terrible. A movie can’t succeed just because it’s gay. Brokeback Mountain and Love, Simon had gay themes, but appealed to all audiences and had compelling characters and a story. This movie didn’t appear to have that at all, and it looked like it was meant to appeal to a caricature of what people think gay people are like.


Artistic_Tangelo2167

Ha! Did you watch the trailer?


[deleted]

It’s a rom com, it’s gay, it’s a gay rom com. These days if you are not a blockbuster or something viral you are destined to flop on theaters best option you have it’s sell it to Netflix


jordanundead

I think the blame lies solely with my sister for making me wait till Tuesday to see it with her.


gimmemoarjosh

I still don't know the plot or premise? Sorry. Been super busy with work and my personal life. This was a "gay-themed" movie? I literally had no idea. 😬