Following a star-studded premiere in Washington DC attended by President Donald Trump, the documentary Melania is off to a surprisingly strong start. The film earned over $8 million on its opening, marking the best opening for a documentary in a decade.
Analysts had expected weaker numbers, partly because early theatre seat maps looked empty. But the film has clearly resonated with conservative audiences, especially women over 55, who made up 72 percent of opening-day viewers, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Overall, 78 percent of ticket buyers were 55 or older.
Melania box office collection: Amazon and Brett Ratner bet big
Melania is directed by filmmaker Brett Ratner, and Amazon MGM Studios spent $40 million to secure worldwide licensing rights. This deal is seen by some as a way to strengthen ties with the White House. The documentary could appear on Amazon Prime near President’s Day weekend, though it may remain in theatres for a while.
Melania faces strong competition this weekend. Rachel McAdams’ thriller Send Help, directed by Sam Raimi, is projected to open at $16–18 million. The comic horror-thriller has a 93 percent critics score and 89 percent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. Indie film Iron Lung is also projected to open in the same range. Box office performance will depend heavily on early attendance.
Other releases include Disney holdovers like Zootopia 2 and Jason Statham’s action film Shelter, both performing at the lower end of expectations with around $5 million each.
On the other hand, the marketing effort has been massive, with $35 million spent globally. For context, most domestic campaigns for documentaries cost $5–7 million, with rare exceptions like Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth or Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11.
Amazon also released Melania in more than 20 international markets, despite controversies. Some European theaters reported empty auditoriums, and the film was pulled from South Africa by a local distributor. The documentary may only play in cinemas for around 10 days or two weekends before moving to streaming.
Melania review: Critics vs. audience
Critics have largely panned the documentary, giving it just a 6 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes. But Trump supporters seem unfazed, giving the film an “A” Cinemascore and a 98 percent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, the highest among all top-10 films this weekend.
Despite predictions that Melania would open around $5 million from 1,778 theatres, actual earnings surprised experts. By Friday afternoon, estimates rose to $8–9 million based on matinee and early evening ticket sales.
Owen Gleiberman of Variety called the film “orchestrated” and “barely rises to the level of a shameless infomercial.” Frank Scheck from The Hollywood Reporter said it “fawns so lavishly over its subject that you feel downright unpatriotic not gushing over it.”
The Guardian’s Catherine Shoard called it “exhaustingly boring and chillingly vain,” adding that the First Lady appeared to have “no friends” and lived an “entirely airless existence.” The Atlantic’s Sophie Gilbert said Ratner “seems desperate to find action, but there is none,” while BuzzFeed’s Stephanie McNeal simply called it the worst film she had ever seen.
On Letterboxd, a social film platform, the movie currently has 1.2 out of 5 stars, with 93% of reviewers giving it the lowest rating.
Before opening, many predicted disaster. A WIRED analysis found the film had sold out just two theatres nationwide before opening day. Social media showed screenshots of mostly empty auditoriums.
Then Friday happened. The documentary earned nearly $3 million on opening day, with strong ticket sales from Texas, Florida, and rural areas. It is now tracking toward an $8 million opening weekend, making it the biggest documentary debut in about ten years.