Melania, however, fell substantially short of turning a profit because it cost $40m to make and $35m to promote
Melania, however, fell substantially short of turning a profit because it cost $40m to make and $35m to promote
Amazon’s Melania Trump documentary has reportedly beaten box office expectations and recorded the strongest start of any documentary in over a decade, taking $7m at the US box office during its lavishly-promoted opening weekend. Simultaneously, though, Melania fell substantially short of turning a profit because it cost $40m to make and $35m to promote.
And Amazon – which recently cut 16,000 corporate jobs – has been hit with criticism that making the documentary about the first lady, and paying so highly for it, was little more than a ploy to curry favor with her husband, Donald Trump, during his second presidency.
The film, which follows Melania Trump as she prepared to re-enter the White House in early 2025, was beaten at the box office by two horror films: Iron Lung and Rachel McAdams’s Send Help. But it managed to beat out action film Shelter.
Melania registered its earnings by targeting older conservatives and has been noted for carefully playing to subjects close to what are said to be interests of her husband’s fans: Patriotism, Christianity and the importance of family.
Deadline said Melania was forecast to make $5m on its debut weekend. The Hollywood Reporter said that those predictions for the Brett Ratner-directed documentary were “based on empty, or nearly empty, seat maps in cinemas across the country”.
