The documentary “Melania” has disappeared completely from box office charts after just four weeks in theaters, marking a steep downfall for Amazon MGM Studios’ polarizing $75 million gamble on First Lady Melania Trump.
The 104-minute feature no longer appears among the top 38 domestic releases according to IMDb’s box office list, effectively concluding its theatrical run with $16.3 million earned in the U.S.—well short of Amazon’s $40 million acquisition cost and $35 million spent on marketing.
Although it premiered in the No. 3 spot with a $7.1 million opening on January 30 — the best debut for a non-concert documentary in more than a decade — the film chronicling Melania Trump’s final 20 days before returning to the White House dropped 67% in its second weekend. By week three, it fell to No. 15, soon after disappearing from major cities entirely.
The studio stopped reporting box office figures on Saturday, February 21, and the documentary has been removed from theaters in New York and Los Angeles. A WIRED analysis of 1,398 showings across 329 U.S. locations found only two sold-out screenings — one in Florida and one in Missouri.
Amazon MGM reportedly dropped 600 theaters after 700 had already cut the film the week before. On Thursday, its last day in wide release, the film brought in just $70,000, averaging $59 per theater — indicating many showings played to nearly empty rooms.
Despite the steep decline, Kevin Wilson, Amazon MGM’s domestic theatrical distribution chief, maintained an optimistic tone. “Melania’s strong theatrical performance is a critical first moment that validates our holistic distribution strategy, building awareness, engagement and provides momentum ahead of the film’s eventual debut on Prime Video,” he said.
The Brett Ratner–directed project has been contentious since its announcement. Ratner was accused of sexual misconduct by six women in November 2017, including actresses Olivia Munn and Natasha Henstridge, during the height of #MeToo. He denied all claims and was never criminally charged. Warner Bros. severed ties with him, making this his first major project since. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos met with President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago in December 2024, shortly before Amazon secured the documentary rights.
The documentary premiered in 1,778 theaters across North America before expanding to 2,003 locations in its second weekend. By February 25, it had shrunk to 505 theaters. The strongest ticket sales came from Dallas, Orlando, Tampa, Phoenix, Houston, Atlanta, and West Palm Beach. Its audience was predominantly female (72%), white (75%), and over 55 (72%), with rural theaters generating 46% of domestic revenue — far above the typical 30%.
The White House held a private black-tie screening on January 24 ahead of its Kennedy Center debut in Washington. The event hosted prominent tech executives, including Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Zoom CEO Eric Yuan, and AMD CEO Lisa Su, along with Queen Rania of Jordan, speaker Tony Robbins, and former boxer Mike Tyson. After the screening, First Lady Melania Trump posted on X: “I am deeply humbled to have been surrounded by an inspiring room of friends, family, and cultural iconoclasts at the White House last night.”
Critics overwhelmingly panned the movie, giving it an 11% score on Rotten Tomatoes based on 53 reviews. Xan Brooks of The Guardian wrote that it “plays like a gilded trash remake of ‘The Zone of Interest’” and called it “pure, endless ****.” Rotten Tomatoes summarized: “Presented with great pomp and circumstance but little insight, this documentary purports to be an up-close view of the First Lady while curiously revealing very little about her.”
Audiences, however, responded in the opposite direction. The film earned a 98% verified audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes and received an “A” from CinemaScore — the largest critic–audience disparity in the site’s history. Parent company Versant denied any tampering, stating that all reviews came from verified Fandango ticket purchasers.
Globally, the film performed even worse, bringing in only $291,552. In the U.K., it opened at No. 29 with £32,974 from 155 cinemas, averaging £212 per theater. Its second weekend plummeted 88% to £4,091. In Mexico City, 15 of 27 showings across eight theaters sold zero tickets, averaging just 2.9 attendees per screening. South African distributor Filmfinity canceled release plans entirely.
Amazon’s unusual release strategy has sparked conversation about whether theatrical runs are becoming expensive marketing vehicles for streaming platforms. Film analyst David A. Gross said that while the opening was “excellent” for a political documentary, “for any other film, with $75 million in costs and limited foreign potential, it would be a problem.” Amazon’s $75 million total investment, according to multiple sources, far surpasses standard documentary budgets — for example, RBG (2018) spent only about $3 million on marketing.
The large expenditure has fueled speculation about Amazon’s motivations. Disney reportedly offered $14 million to $15 million for streaming rights alone — meaning Amazon outbid competitors by roughly $25 million. Reports citing the Wall Street Journal say First Lady Melania Trump personally received about $28 million of the $40 million rights fee.
The documentary is now headed to Prime Video, where Amazon MGM hopes it will find a stronger audience. A streaming release date has not yet been announced, but a follow-up docuseries is already in development under the original agreement. Whether streaming numbers can justify the heavy investment remains uncertain — though for Amazon, the world’s largest online retailer, $75 million may be a relatively small amount if it helps solidify ties with the Trump administration.