The opening weekend numbers for the Melania Trump documentary are in: the Brett Ratner-directed Amazon-distributed film debuted with $7 million at the domestic box office. That’s good enough to make it the biggest opening for a non-concert documentary in a decade.
To be sure, that’s a strong showing for Melania, as it exceeded its initial forecast of a $3 million to $5 million debut, and withstood a critical drubbing. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 10% critics score; our own Liz Shannon Miller gave it an F, calling it a “flat and lifeless portrait of the First Lady.”
Still, some context matters as the Trumps, Ratner, Amazon no doubt attempt to spike the football. Unlike most documentaries of its kind, Melania reportedly received an enormous marketing push, with Amazon spending $35 million on promotion, bringing the total budget to roughly $75 million. The film also benefited from Trump’s media megaphone, an ad on the Las Vegas Sphere, and a glitzy premiere at the Kennedy Center.
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All of which is to say: even with a strong debut, the movie still has a long way to go before it reaches profitability.
In a statement reaching to Melania’s opening weekend box office performance, Amazon MGM Studios Head of Domestic Theatrical Distribution, Kevin Wilson said, “We’re very encouraged by the strong start and positive audience response, with early box office for Melania exceeding our expectations. This momentum is an important first step in what we see as a long-tail lifecycle for both the film and the forthcoming docu-series, extending well beyond the theatrical window and into what we believe will be a significant run for both on our service. We are confident in the long-term value this rollout will deliver to customers both in theaters, and for years to come on Prime Video.”
