First Lady Melania Trump’s documentary premiered in U.S. theaters over the weekend, generating approximately $7 million in ticket sales.
The figure exceeded most industry projections for a political non-fiction film, and it marked one of the best non-fiction openings in over a decade.
Analysts had widely expected Melania to earn between $2 million and $5 million, and some forecasts were even more pessimistic, predicting as little as $1 million on opening day.
- Melania Trump's documentary opened with about $7M in ticket sales, surpassing industry estimates of $2M to $5M for political non-fiction films.
- Amazon invested $75M in the film’s rights and marketing, but theatrical revenue alone won't cover the high costs despite the strong opening.
- Critics largely panned the documentary, giving it a 6% Rotten Tomatoes score, while audience ratings soared at 99%.
Melania Trump’s documentary generated about $7 million in ticket sales
Image credits: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images
That made the roughly $7 million debut a modest surprise, especially for a documentary without a conventional entertainment subject.
Despite the relatively strong start at the box office by documentary standards, the film is not on track to make a profit from theatrical ticket sales alone.
That is largely due to the extraordinary cost associated with bringing it to market.
Amazon paid $40 million for the distribution rights to the film and spent an additional $35 million on marketing and promotion, a combined investment of $75 million.
With cinemas typically keeping around half of ticket receipts, even a solid $3.5 million weekend profit represents only a sliver of that total spend, and industry observers say theatrical revenue alone won’t come close to covering it.
Image credits: Ming Yeung/Getty Images
However, the box office takings were still reported by right-leaning media outlets as an overwhelming success, and that in itself caused confusion among many social media users.
On Sunday, Fox News ran with the headline, “Box Office success for Melania Trump’s movie.”
“Clearly, we have different notions of what success means,” one user said in response to the headline, with another adding, “If a Hollywood movie costs 75 million to make and it only grosses 7-8 million on its opening weekend this would signify a massive flop.”
A third posted, “With ‘success’ meaning ‘embarrassing f***ing flop.’”
“A success is when you make more money than you spent. Didn’t even come close,” one person commented.
FOX: Box office success for Melania Trump’s movie pic.twitter.com/4xQs6mh7yR
— Acyn (@Acyn) February 1, 2026
Melania also scored low with critics, with reviewers describing the film as promotional and lacking in cinematic depth.
Prominent film review website Rotten Tomatoes gave the documentary just a 6% critics rating, but verified audience ratings were astronomically higher at 99%.
The film performed best in Trump strongholds such as Florida, Texas, and Arizona, where ticket sales outpaced areas like New York and Los Angeles.
Internationally, the film’s box office has been mixed, with low turnout in markets like the U.K.
The documentary follows Melania during the 20 days leading up to her husband Donald Trump’s second presidential inauguration, offering a behind-the-scenes look at her life, public duties, and personal reflections.
The ticket sales profit does not come close to covering the investment
Image credits: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images
It was directed by Brett Ratner, marking his first major movie since he was accused of sexual misconduct and harassment almost a decade ago.
Ratner recently appeared in a new batch of Epstein files released by the Justice Department over the weekend and was shown in photographs with Jeffrey Epstein and two women.
Appearing in the Epstein files does not indicate wrongdoing.
The size of Amazon’s investment in the film has fueled broader discussion about the project’s purpose, with critics concerned that the motive goes beyond commercial success.
Some have framed the deal as part of a larger political calculation or bid to gain favor with the White House, although Amazon and the film’s backers have rejected those claims, saying the company simply believed the content would resonate with viewers.
Image credits: Spencer Platt/Getty Images
“Spending upwards of $75 million on ‘Melania’ is not about art, it’s about positioning,” Exhibitor Relations box-office analyst Jeff Bock told Business Insider.
“It certainly feeds news cycles and gets viral discourse, but ‘Melania’ is really a corporate chess move with a human brand as the piece. This is access and leverage for Amazon, plain and simple.”
“We licensed the film for one reason and one reason only — because we think customers are going to love it,” an Amazon MGM Studios spokesperson said.
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