Amazon Founder Jeff Bezos is poised to benefit from the controversy surrounding the ‘Melania’ documentary, which was backed by Amazon MGM Studios, and based on the life of US First Lady Melania Trump.
Bezos, who is also the owner of The Washington Post, is in fact positioned to emerge as the sole clear beneficiary from the backlash surrounding the documentary. Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel has labelled it a “$75million bribe” to get Bezos top access to US President Donald Trump.
Bezos backed the film about Melania Trump with an unprecedented $40million licensing deal, a decision that has triggered questions about motive, political access, and corporate judgment as the documentary heads toward a potentially dismal theatrical run, according to AOL.com
The film was released in 3,300 cinema halls across 30 countries, supported by a monster $35million global marketing campaign.
Doubts over its box office performance have soared after Ted Hope, a former Amazon film executive, said: “This has to be the most expensive documentary ever made that didn’t involve music licensing. How can it not be equated with currying favour or an outright bribe?”
Why is Melania’s documentary being criticised?
According to reports, the lavishly funded film has attracted criticism for how it was financed and packaged at a cost of about $40 million for rights plus around $35 million in promotion, a budget considered unusually large for a documentary and seen by some as an attempt to curry favour with powerful figures rather than focus on filmmaking value.
Critics have also described the film as unengaging, shallow and lacking meaningful insight, with overwhelmingly negative scores from critics on review aggregators and reports of poor audience turnout in some markets.
Additionally, the involvement of director Brett Ratner, who has faced past sexual misconduct allegations, and questions about the degree of editorial control exerted by Melania Trump herself have fuelled perceptions that the project functions more as self-serving branding than substantive documentary filmmaking, according to Filmogaz.com
How will Bezos benefit?
According to AOL.com, one Washington strategist said, “If this cements Bezos in Trump’s inner circle, the return on investment dwarfs any theatrical loss. He will basically emerge as the winner from this box office disaster, as it will likely lead to more huge contracts for his companies from the Trump administration.”
Notably, Bezos had dined with President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago several times and also donated $1million to the Republican’s 2024 inauguration fund.