Bros Will Not Be Released In The Middle East

Billy Eichner’s Bros, the first R-rated gay rom-com ever made by a major studio, will not be shown in the Middle East.

The movie is due for release in the US on September 30, and then across the world in October and November. However, that does not include the Middle East due to cultural and commercial reasons.

Although not confirmed, it is unlikely to be shown in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and Kuwait, which are notorious for censoring LGBTQ+ movies.

And, as Variety writes, the film is anything but subtle in depicting gay romance and sexuality, which has traditionally been censored or toned down by Hollywood.

Nicholas Stoller (Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Neighbors) directs the film, which also features Bowen Yang, Jim Rash, Dot-Marie Jones, Harvey Fierstein, and several celebrity cameos. Bobby (played by Eichner) is a brainy podcaster and museum head, who remains committed to remaining single in a complicated, modern dating world. That is, until he runs into Luke Macfarlane’s Aaron, a buff lawyer who’s the complete opposite of Bobby – but changes everything for him. Like any rom-com, the two have their own meet-cute which turns into a whirlwind romance, including a number of explicit sex scenes.

At the Toronto International Film Festival earlier this month, both Eichner and Macfarlane spoke to the wider significance of Bros and what the movie will come to represent for the LGBTQ+ community.

Hollywood has had a difficult track record opening movies with LGBTQ+ characters or content in the Middle East. Most recently, Disney’s Toy Story spinoff Lightyear missed out on a release Middle East territories due to the inclusion of a same-sex kiss.

Shawn Robbins, chief analyst at Boxoffice Pro, suggests that the exclusion of Middle East markets won’t make much of a dent in Bros' box office takings. “These and a number of pre-pandemic examples underscore the relatively low impact most markets in that part of the world have on a film of this scale,” he says.

“Comedies in general tend to lean more heavily on a domestic share of revenue, and in fact, it’s highly likely the studio [Universal] factored in the expectation of not releasing this film in certain markets when budgeting for production and distribution,” he adds.

Read related myGwork articles here:

‘Eternals’ Banned In Saudi Arabia, Qatar And Kuwait After Disney Refuses To Cut Gay Kiss

Evening Standard Accuses Emirates of Cutting Same-Sex Kisses from Films

Olivia Wilde Speaks About Censorship Of Lesbian Sex Scene In ‘Booksmart’

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