Fri Oct 21

Queer romcom Bros struggled at the box-office. Are mainstream audiences still not ready?

Written by Damien O'Meara, PhD Candidate, Media and Communications, Swinburne University of Technology

When Bros creator, Billy Eichner made an impassioned plea for people to see his queer-centred romantic comedy, he shared concerns on Twitter ^[1] that straight people “just didn’t show up.”

The subsequent “flop” discourse surrounding Bros appears to ignore the positive reviews from audiences who have seen the film ^[2] – focusing more on the failure of a queer romcom to have mainstream appeal, and a corresponding bottom line at the box office.

Variety’s Zack Sharf and William Earl ^[3] suggest that “the star power just wasn’t there” to support Bros success.

Reporting suggests ^[4] Bros was expected to earn $8-10 million in its opening weekend in America, but only achieved a disappointing $4.8 million. In three weeks, the queer romcom has barely earned $10 million ^[5], earning less-than a million in its third weekend.

Trailer: Bros (2022)

It matters that it’s queer

Being an out queer actor is rare in Hollywood. Despite recent advances, it can still mean limited opportunities. While straight, cisgender actors have won Oscars for their portrayals of gay and transgender characters, openly queer actors are rarely cast in Oscar-worthy queer roles ^[6].

In analysis of the queer history of The Oscars ^[7], Evan Ross Katz notes that: “No out LGBTQ+ actor has ever won an Academy Award for depicting an LGBTQ+ character.”

Billy Porter is a rare example of an out gay man winning an Emmy for portraying a character that aligns with his identity, for his portrayal of Pray Tell in Pose.

71st Emmy Awards: Billy Porter Wins For Outstanding Lead Actor In A Drama Series.

Guy Branum, who plays Henry in Bros provides a passionate defence of the film in a Twitter thread ^[8], pointing out that it features a central ensemble of out queer actors, who are often overlooked for bigger profile straight and cisgender celebrities.

Still, the Hollywood reliance on star power, particularly in romcoms, has not traditionally been a convention in the queer romcom.

The romantic comedy

Genre theory ^[9] emerged in the late-1960s and is used to categorise films into their type or kind. Genre is also used by producers to market films, enticing audiences through familiar conventions of their favourite type of film.

A key convention of marketing the romcom is in the pairing of a rising star with an established star – think Katherine Heigl and Seth Rogen in Knocked Up ^[10] (2007) – which helps build hype for the film and the profile of the rising star.

Just like the romcom, the queer romcom is a comedy where romance provides narrative drive – boy-meets-boy, girl-meets-girl, trans girl-meets-boy, they-meets-them, etc – but they also feature a self-reflexivity about queer cultural politics ^[11].

Queer romcom complications (and comedy) can often be grounded in not-coming-out narratives putting our protagonist in awkward situations. Queer romcoms can also look to the politics and tensions within LGBTIQ+ communities for comic observations that resonate with queer audiences.

Queer romcoms have not relied as heavily on the star power, nor had the wide distribution ^[12], of their mainstream counterparts. Instead the sub-genre has found a strong home with the dedicated audiences of queer film festivals, which exist, in part, to provide a place for queer people to see themselves reflected onscreen ^[13].

Adam & Steve ^[14] (2005) premiered at the Cardiff Film Festival, but never found a theatrical release. Boy Meets Girl ^[15] (2014) premiered at the Boston LGBT Film Festival and was released to four theatres. Australia’s Ellie & Abbie (& Ellie’s Dead Aunt)^[16] (2020) premiered at the Mardi Gras Film Festival, went on to a number of queer film festivals and had a limited theatrical release.

Is streaming the new home of the queer romcom?

With the rise of streaming, queer romcoms have begun to find more success with bigger audiences.

Happiest Season ^[18] (2020) was banked for a theatrical release, starring Kristen Stewart across from Mackenzie Davis. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic the lesbian romcom opted for a streaming release, breaking Hulu streaming records ^[19]. While hitting the star/rising star pairing, the comedy is born out of the revelation that Davis’ character is not out to her family. Awkward faux pas ensue as Stewart’s character tries – unconvincingly – to play the straight roommate.

The trailer for Happiest Season names many of the stars, including Kristin Stewart.

Single All The Way ^[20] (2021) is a first of its kind for Netflix ^[21] with Michael Urie – known for his recurring role on Ugly Betty – and supporting actor royalty including Jennifer Coolidge and Kathy Najimy. The Christmas romcom reached Number 6 in the Netflix Top 10 ^[22] in its debut week.

Fire Island ^[23] (2022), another Hulu success story, was the sixth most streamed movie ^[24] across all platforms in its debut week. Joel Kim Booster’s queer retelling of Pride and Prejudice features numerous out LGBTIQ+ actors. While stars include Saturday Night Live’s Bowen Yang, Fire Island is a step away from the big names that were at the centre of Happiest Season.

Streaming services have shown a mainstream-level appetite for the queer romcom and less reliance on star power.

Hey Bros, does this mean…

While Eichner has shown strong success in his career, he is in the position of a rising star when it comes to the movies. He appears to be resisting the star/rising star convention of the romcom for the community specific conventions of the queer romcom, once relegated to the niche audiences of film festivals.

Bros went for a box office release, meaning there is a higher bar, in terms of cost and effort, for audiences to get through the door. Some have tried to point to Bros as the death knell of the romcom at the box office ^[26]. However, Bros is using the conventions of the queer romcom to give out queer actors a bigger opportunity, to help build their star power.

As some aspects of queer culture find mainstream prominence, there will inevitably be tension between what queer audiences and mainstream audiences expect. This isn’t the end of the queer romcom at the box office, but a step to it finding its way in the evolving genre.