“Melania,” a documentary centred on First Lady Melania Trump, is outperforming initial box-office expectations, with Sunday estimates indicating an opening-weekend gross of $7.04 million.
The film is tracking third for the weekend, behind the Sam Raimi-directed thriller “Send Help,” projected to earn $20 million, and “Iron Lung,” a video game adaptation from YouTuber Mark Fischbach, known as Markiplier, which is expected to take in $17.8 million.
Amazon acquired “Melania” for $40 million and is reported to be spending an additional $35 million on marketing. Despite surpassing pre-release projections of a $3 million to $5 million debut, the documentary is unlikely to recoup its costs through theatrical release alone.
Amazon’s offer reportedly exceeded the next-highest bid, from Disney, by $26 million, prompting speculation that the acquisition was driven less by box-office prospects than by political considerations. Ted Hope, a veteran film executive 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.”
“How can it not be equated with currying favor or an outright bribe?” Hope said. “How can that not be the case?”
The film marks Brett Ratner’s first directing credit since 2017, when several women accused him of sexual harassment and misconduct, allegations he has denied. Rolling Stone reported that roughly two-thirds of the film’s New York-based crew requested not to be formally credited.
Although Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook attended a preview screening of “Melania” at the White House last weekend, the documentary was not screened in advance for critics. Reviews released after its debut have been sharply negative. The film currently holds a 7% score on Metacritic, indicating “overwhelming dislike,” and a 10% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
New York Times film critic Manohla Dargis described the documentary as “a very circumscribed and carefully stage-managed chronicle of Mrs. Trump’s day-to-day life” during the 20 days leading up to President Trump’s 2025 inauguration.
In a statement, Amazon MGM’s head of domestic theatrical distribution, Kevin Wilson, said the opening weekend represents “an important first step in what we see as a long-tail lifecycle for both the film and the forthcoming docu-series,” adding that it is expected to have a “significant life” on Amazon’s Prime streaming service.
