Amazon’s documentary “Melania” grossed $7 million over the weekend

“Melania” is a documentary about First Lady Melania Trump Exceeded box office expectationswith Sunday estimates indicating it will gross $7.04 million in its opening weekend.

The documentary comes in third place overall for the weekend, behind Sam Raimi’s thriller “Send Help” ($20 million) and “Iron Lung” ($17.8 million), an adaptation of a video game from YouTuber Mark Fishbach (known as Markiplier).

Amazon paid $40 million to acquire Melania and is reportedly spending $35 million promoting it. So, although the documentary beats pre-release estimates that predicted $3 million to $5 million in opening weekend, it’s unlikely to turn a profit in theaters.

Amazon’s $26 million bid came in ahead of the second-largest bidder, Disney, leading critics to point out that the deal had less to do with the film’s box office potential and more to do with winning over the Trump administration. Veteran film executive Ted Hope, who worked at Amazon from 2015 to 2020, He told the New York Times that the film “must be the most expensive documentary ever made that did not include a music license.”

“How can this not be equated with flattery or outright bribery?” Hope said. “How could it not be so?”

This is the first film directed by Brett Ratner since 2017, when Many women accused him of sexual harassment and misconduct. (Ratner denied the accusations.) Rolling Stone magazine reported this Two-thirds of the New York film crew asked not to be officially credited In the movie.

While Apple CEO Tim Cook Attend the preview of “Melania” At the White House last weekend, “Melania” was not screened in advance to critics, and subsequent reviews were harsh. Documentary currently It sits at 7% on review aggregator Metacriticindicating “overwhelming hatred” and 10% on Rotten Tomatoes.

New York Times film critic Described by Manohla Dargis As a “highly specific and carefully curated chronicle of Mrs. Trump’s daily life” during the 20 days leading up to President Trump’s 2025 inauguration.

In a statement, Kevin Wilson, head of domestic theatrical distribution at Amazon MGM, called this weekend “an important first step in what we consider to be a long life cycle for both the film and the upcoming docuseries,” which he expects will have a “significant life” on Amazon’s streaming service.