Bros Director Addresses Disappointing Box Office, Says 'People Don't Know What's Good For Them'

Bros director Nicholas Stoller is speaking out in regards to the huge box office failure of Bros, and Billy Eichner's comments where he's blaming straight people for not supporting a film centered around two gay men.

Here's what he told The Hollywood Reporter:

"I can’t say that I’m happy with how the movie performed. It is very strange just because the movie is so much fun. And as someone who makes comedies for movie theaters—or did until, I guess, this weekend—I love seeing comedies in movie theaters, and people do. It’s almost like people don’t know what’s good for them. I’ve screened the film a lot of times now, and it always screens really well. As I was joking with a friend of mine, it’s an entertainment delivery system. There’s a lot of things going on as to why it might not have done as well as we all hoped. But I really like it. I don’t know what to say! It’s just super confusing.

We got the data back. Gay men are the only people who saw the movie. It’s not like [Billy Eichner] said something that was a lie or incorrect. I think the industry has trained people to not go to the theaters for comedy. But I also think people saw it and thought, “That story’s not my story. Why would I go see that?” And they will slowly discover it because that’s what’s happened with most of the movies I’ve directed, with the exception of Neighbors, is people discover it as it gets out in the world. I think a lot of people are still afraid to go to theaters and a lot of people will get it on streaming.”

I may not know a lot of things, but I do know that insulting the intelligence of your audience isn't going to help your film. I feel like I'm beating a dead horse whenever I talk about Bros. We the queer people do want to see movies representing the community on the big and small screen.

However, we don't want to see a rom-com in the middle of October where you center it around your typical cis white gay males, and use the few POC in the film as window dressing. I was going to get a ticket to see Bros in theaters, but the more people behind the scenes talk about this film, and place blame on everyone but themselves, the more you're turning me off from seeing this film.

So you, Billy, Guy Branum and everyone else can continue to drink the Jim Jones kool-aid, and blame everyone else for the film's failure. But until you can face reality, step outside of your Hollywood bubble and read the room in regards to what audiences in the real world want to see, films that were rolled out like Bros will continue to fail.