Amazon’s ‘Melania’ Documentary Surpasses Expectations with $7 Million Opening Weekend
Amazon’s latest documentary, Melania, which delves into the life of First Lady Melania Trump, has exceeded initial box office projections by grossing approximately $7.04 million during its opening weekend. This performance places the film third in weekend earnings, trailing behind Sam Raimi’s thriller Send Help, which garnered $20 million, and Iron Lung, a video game adaptation by YouTuber Mark Fischbach, known as Markiplier, which earned $17.8 million.
The acquisition of Melania by Amazon was a significant investment, with the company reportedly paying $40 million for the rights and allocating an additional $35 million for promotional activities. Despite the documentary’s strong opening, these substantial expenditures suggest that achieving profitability through theatrical releases alone may be challenging.
Amazon’s aggressive bidding strategy, which outpaced Disney’s offer by $26 million, has sparked discussions about the motivations behind such a hefty investment. Veteran film executive Ted Hope, who served at Amazon from 2015 to 2020, remarked that the film has to be the most expensive documentary ever made that didn’t involve music licensing. He further questioned, How can it not be equated with currying favor or an outright bribe?
Melania marks the return of director Brett Ratner to filmmaking since 2017, following allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct, which he has denied. Notably, Rolling Stone reported that two-thirds of the New York crew involved in the production requested to remain uncredited in the film.
The documentary was not made available for advance screenings to critics, and subsequent reviews have been overwhelmingly negative. It currently holds a 7% rating on Metacritic, indicating overwhelming dislike, and a 10% rating 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 leading up to President Trump’s 2025 inauguration.
In response to the film’s reception, Kevin Wilson, head of domestic theatrical distribution for Amazon MGM, stated that the opening weekend is an important first step in what we see as a long-tail lifecycle for both the film and the forthcoming docu-series, expressing confidence that the documentary will find a significant life on Amazon’s Prime streaming service.
