Why The Melania Trump Documentary Bombed At The Box Office

Melania Trump hasn't exactly been a visible presence in Donald Trump's second term, so the "Melania" documentary that came out in theaters on January 30 might be the first time many people have thought of her recently — well, not too many people, given how the film bombed at the box office and grossed just over $7 million in its opening weekend. How did this happen? Looper's video above goes into all of the nitty-gritty details.

First, let's contextualize that $7 million opening weekend gross. Some outlets will say that this number exceeded expectations, but it's not exactly close to turning a profit. Amazon MGM Studios spent $40 million to acquire the rights to the film and an extra $35 million to advertise it. That's a total of $75 million, so it doesn't seem like the film's going to break even anytime soon. It also seems that people really don't want to see movies about the Trumps right now, as "The Apprentice," starring Sebastian Stan as Donald Trump, similarly bombed at the box office in 2024.

By all accounts, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos wanted to distribute "Melania" to further curry favor with the Trump administration for the sake of his business interests. Losing a bunch of money may not be the worst thing in the world for Amazon, which has plenty, but that still doesn't explain why people didn't turn out for the film. There are at least a couple of reasons for that.

Much of the eastern United States was still dealing with a powerful snowstorm during the weekend of January 30. That likely kept a good number of people inside and away from movie theaters, but the box office still did just fine. "Melania" came in third behind two horror thrillers — "Iron Lung" and "Send Help." It seems more people wanted to be scared by being encased in a submarine or stuck on a deserted island, as opposed to the current political landscape.

There's also the Brett Ratner of it all. Best known for making the "Rush Hour" trilogy, this is the first film Ratner directed since being accused of sexual misconduct by multiple women. Some people on the fence about watching the film might have been deterred by his involvement. Like Jeff Bezos, it's possible Ratner was hoping for a little quid pro quo to get "Rush Hour 4" off the ground, which is reportedly in the works at Paramount after Donald Trump specifically requested it. 

"Melania" also didn't do well critically. As of this writing, it has an 8% score on Rotten Tomatoes with 26 professional reviews counted. The audience score is far more favorable, with the film having a 98% rating on the Popcornmeter. Most of the critics' reviews seem to be on the same page: This is less of a documentary and more of a puff piece to boost Melania Trump's ego. It's safe to say that "Melania" isn't making any lists of the best documentaries of all time. If you want a more in-depth look at how "Melania" bombed at the box office, make sure to check out our video at the top of this piece.