The documentary “Melania” has dropped off all box office charts just four weeks after its theatrical debut, marking a dramatic downfall for Amazon MGM Studios’ high-profile and controversial $75 million bet on First Lady Melania Trump.
The 104-minute feature is no longer ranked among the top 38 domestic releases according to IMDb’s box office listings, effectively concluding its run with a domestic total of $16.3 million — far below Amazon’s $40 million acquisition price and $35 million marketing budget.
Although it debuted at No. 3 with $7.1 million on January 30 — the strongest opening for a non-concert documentary in over ten years — the film chronicling Melania Trump’s final 20 days before returning to the White House dropped 67% in its second weekend. By week three, it slid to No. 15 and soon vanished from major theater markets altogether.
The studio halted box office reporting on Saturday, February 21, and screenings have ended in both New York and Los Angeles. WIRED’s analysis of 1,398 showings across 329 U.S. theaters found only two sold-out screenings nationwide: one in Florida and one in Missouri.
Amazon MGM reportedly removed the film from 600 theaters in addition to the 700 that dropped it the previous week. On its final day of wide release, the documentary earned only $70,000 — averaging about $59 per theater, a sign that many showings drew almost no audience.
Despite the steep decline, Kevin Wilson, the studio’s head of domestic theatrical distribution, remained upbeat. “Melania’s strong theatrical performance is a critical first moment that validates our holistic distribution strategy, building awareness, engagement and provides momentum ahead of the film’s eventual debut on Prime Video,” he said.
Directed by Brett Ratner, the documentary faced controversy from the outset. Ratner was accused of sexual misconduct by six women in November 2017, including Olivia Munn and Natasha Henstridge, during the height of the #MeToo movement. Ratner denied the accusations and was never charged. Warner Bros. cut ties with him, and this marks his first major film since. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos met with President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago in December 2024, shortly before the company purchased the documentary rights.
The film opened in 1,778 theaters across North America and expanded to 2,003 screens during its second weekend. By February 25, the count dropped to just 505 theaters. Stronger markets included Dallas, Orlando, Tampa, Phoenix, Houston, Atlanta, and West Palm Beach. Viewers skewed heavily female (72%), white (75%), and over 55 (72%), while rural locations made up 46% of box office revenue — significantly above the usual 30%.
The White House hosted a private black-tie screening on January 24 before the Kennedy Center premiere. Attendees included Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Zoom CEO Eric Yuan, AMD CEO Lisa Su, Queen Rania of Jordan, Tony Robbins, and former boxer Mike Tyson. Afterward, Melania Trump posted on X: “I am deeply humbled to have been surrounded by an inspiring room of friends, family, and cultural iconoclasts at the White House last night.”
Critics panned the documentary, which received an 11% Tomatometer score on Rotten Tomatoes from 53 reviews. Xan Brooks of The Guardian said it “plays like a gilded trash remake of ‘The Zone of Interest'” and labeled it “pure, endless ****.” Rotten Tomatoes’ consensus states that the film is presented with fanfare but offers little genuine insight.
Audiences, however, reacted very differently. The film earned a 98% verified audience score on Rotten Tomatoes and an “A” CinemaScore rating — the largest divide ever recorded between critics and viewers on the platform. Parent company Versant denied any tampering, emphasizing that all scores come from verified Fandango ticket purchases.
International performance was even weaker, with just $291,552 in earnings. In the UK, it debuted at No. 29, taking in £32,974 from 155 cinemas for a per-screen average of £212. Its second weekend dropped 88% to £4,091. In Mexico City, 15 of 27 showings across eight theaters sold zero tickets, averaging only 2.9 attendees per screening. South Africa’s distributor, Filmfinity, canceled the release entirely.
Amazon’s unorthodox theatrical rollout has fueled debate over whether movie releases now function primarily as pricey marketing tools for streaming platforms. Industry analyst David A. Gross noted that although the opening was “excellent” for a political documentary, “for any other film, with $75 million in costs and limited foreign potential, it would be a problem.” The company’s $75 million total investment, according to various reports, vastly exceeds normal documentary budgets — for example, 2018’s RBG spent only $3 million on marketing.
The extravagant spending has raised questions about Amazon’s intentions. Disney reportedly offered $14 million to $15 million solely for streaming rights, meaning Amazon overbid by roughly $25 million. Reports citing the Wall Street Journal say Melania Trump personally received around $28 million of the $40 million acquisition price.
The documentary is now headed to Prime Video, where Amazon MGM expects a more favorable reception. The streaming release date has not yet been announced, and a follow-up docuseries is already in development as part of the original deal. Whether streaming numbers can justify the massive costs remains unclear — though for Amazon, the world’s largest e-commerce giant, $75 million may be a relatively small investment for maintaining goodwill with the Trump administration.
