The documentary Melania, directed by Brett Ratner and profiling US First Lady Melania Trump, opened in theaters on Friday, January 30, with box office results that exceeded modest expectations.
Amazon MGM’s Melanie documentary defied low initial expectations with a stronger-than-expected opening. (Reuters)Amazon MGM Studios reportedly paid $40 million to acquire the documentary and an additional $35 million in marketing.
Also read: ‘Melania’ documentary: Amazon restricts press access to Washington premiere
The opening weekend performance is better than expectedBrett Ratner’s documentary Melania , which follows the first lady 20 days after Donald Trump’s second presidential inauguration, earned $2.9 million from 1,778 theaters on its opening day Friday, beating box office estimates.
The controversial documentary was predicted by analysts to gross between $1 million and $5 million in its first weekend of release.
Rather, it is now expected to gross $8.1 million through Sunday, according to Variety.
According to The Guardian, sales internationally have been described as “soft” with reports of rare ticket buys in markets such as the UK.
The Guardian reported that at its flagship Islington location in London, only one ticket was sold for the first screening on Friday. Few other screenings in the country sold a handful of tickets, compared to nearly sold-out seats in “ultra-conservative hubs” like Plano, Texas.
Also Read: Brett Ranner: Is Melania Trump Documentary Director Named in Epstein File?
Critical reaction to the filmEven if the movie does better than expected at the box office, Amazon is still unlikely to recoup the money MGM invested.
Despite its widespread support, industry analysts see the performance as underwhelming rather than triumphant. The Hollywood Reporter described Melania’s performance at the box office as “a huge gamble for everyone”.
On Rotten Tomatoes, “Melania” gets 11%. A reviewer on Platform wrote, “It is not impossible that the real purpose of this portrait is not insight, but distraction from the horrors and corruption of her husband’s rule.”
Melania is the first directorial break for Brett Ratner since he was fired in 2017 amid allegations of sexual misconduct and harassment in the MeToo movement.