The documentary “Melania,” about First Lady Melania Trump, is exceeding box office expectations. Sunday estimates suggest it will earn $7.04 million on its opening weekend. The film is placing third overall for the weekend, behind the Sam Raimi-directed thriller “Send Help” at $20 million and the video game adaptation “Iron Lung” from YouTuber Markiplier at $17.8 million.
Amazon paid $40 million to acquire “Melania” and is reportedly spending an additional $35 million to promote it. While the documentary is outperforming pre-release estimates that predicted a $3 to $5 million opening, it is unlikely to turn a profit from its theatrical run. Amazon’s bid was $26 million higher than the next highest bidder, Disney, leading critics to suggest the deal was less about box office potential and more about winning favor with the Trump administration.
Veteran film executive Ted Hope, who worked at Amazon from 2015 to 2020, told The New York Times that the film “has to be the most expensive documentary ever made that didn’t involve music licensing.” He questioned the motive behind the acquisition, asking, “How can it not be equated with currying favor or an outright bribe?”
This is the first film directed by Brett Ratner since 2017, when multiple women accused him of sexual harassment and misconduct. Ratner has denied those accusations. Rolling Stone reports that two-thirds of the film’s New York crew asked not to be formally credited.
While Apple CEO Tim Cook attended a preview screening of “Melania” at the White House last weekend, the film was not screened in advance for critics. The subsequent reviews have been brutal. The documentary currently holds a score of 7% on Metacritic, indicating “overwhelming dislike,” and a 10% on Rotten Tomatoes.
New York Times film critic Manohla Dargis described it as “a very circumscribed and carefully stage-managed chronicle of Mrs. Trump’s day-to-day life” during the 20 days before President Trump’s 2025 inauguration.
In a statement, Amazon MGM’s head of domestic theatrical distribution Kevin Wilson described this weekend as “an important first step in what we see as a long-tail lifecycle for both the film and the forthcoming docu-series.” He predicted the project will have a “significant life” on Amazon’s Prime streaming service.