– Unfortunately, this is the world we live in. Even with glowing reviews, fantastic Rotten Tomatoes ratings and a top score on CinemaScore, straight people – especially in certain areas of the country – did not show up for “Bros”. This move from actor and screenwriter Billy Eichner ignited the debate surrounding the romantic comedy “Bros”. The cinema film was to be the first of its kind with a major film studio behind it: queer film, queer cast and wide cinema distribution. But despite good reviews and a solid marketing campaign, the film has flopped big time. Bros cost NOK 227 million to make, so far it has made just over half of that. Already during the opening weekend, it became clear that “Bros” was not going to be a box office success. But the filmmakers had hoped that the film would do better in Europe, as it had already done in big cities like New York, Los Angeles and San Fransico. Unfortunately for Eichner, audiences in Europe are also failing. In Norway, roughly 3,500 have bought tickets for “Bros”. It does not match Eichner’s experience of how the film was received. – Yesterday I snuck in and sat at the very back of a sold-out screening of “Bros” in Los Angeles. The audience howled with laughter from start to finish, (…) some even wiped away tears as they left the cinema. It was truly magical. Really. I am very proud of this film, says the 44-year-old. Main film at the Norwegian film festival FAN: Bård Ydén in Oslo/Fusion chose to stage “Bros” as the opening film during this year’s festival. Photo: private Not many Norwegians have seen Bros, but a good portion of them have probably seen the film thanks to Bård Ydén. He is head of the Oslo/Fusion film festival, which this year chose “Bros” as its main film. Oslo/Fusion is a film festival with an LGBTQ focus, but Ydén will not agree that that was the only reason why the film was staged. – I was completely blown away when I saw the film. It is obviously written by a homosexual, and goes into so many topics that are relevant to queer life. I think it was incredibly refreshing, says Ydén. Like Eichner, he is disappointed that so few have seen the film. – I think it’s terribly disappointing that so few have seen it. But I have to admit that I thought it along the way, that the audience for this film is very limited. But he does not agree that heterosexuals can be blamed. – Gay men don’t go to the cinema too much either! No, I think it would be wrong to blame the heterosexuals in this way. But he has a point, because we say we have come a long way. We clearly don’t have that. – I am proud to belong to a minority, but I also want Streite to understand what it is like to be a minority. They are not interested in even trying. Minerva: – It’s not about homophobia Magnus Nordmo Eriksen, journalist in the bourgeois newspaper Minerva, believes that the straight audience has been forgotten in “Bros”. Minerva journalist Magnus Nordmo Eriksen has also thrown himself into the debate. In his post “Homophobia didn’t ruin Bros’ commercial success”, he comes up with his own theory about the film’s lack of success. – The fault with “Bros” is that it doesn’t remember straight people, i.e. those who make up the vast majority of cinema-goers. It thinks streite are so accepting and busy being #allies that they devour everything LGBT with skin and hair. (..) The fact is probably that most people don’t care that much, writes Eriksen. This theory is supported by the American money magazine Forbes, which has its own list of what went wrong with “Bros”. Among other things, they point out that these types of comedies have struggled for a long time, that the film did not have famous film stars and that the importance of the film has been emphasized over the entertainment factor. Many reasons, but not homophobia. HOMOPHOBIA: Billy Eichner believes homophobia is a central part of the reason why “Bros” does not catch on. Photo: Jamie McCarthy / AFP/NTB Scanpix Eichner doesn’t believe that. He says, among other things, that he experienced that a theater chain did not want to show the film’s trailer, because of its content. – We live in a divided society in that way, and it is a bit of a question where you live. Homophobia is a far bigger problem than it concerns this silly comedy. But if I think that is a factor here? Yes I believe.
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Director blames heterosexuals after cinema flop – news Culture and entertainment
