The first lady’s newly released film, Melania, has sold out in only two theaters nationwide.
A WIRED analysis on Jan. 29 found that Melania Trump’s documentary, released on Jan. 30, filled theaters in just two locations: AMC Classic Indian River 24 in Vero Beach, Florida, and AMC Independence Commons 20 in Independence, Missouri.
WIRED reviewed nearly 1,400 screenings in the United States on the Fandango ticketing platform. The publication caveated that “it’s possible that not all movie theaters sell tickets through that website.”
Melania opened in an estimated 1,500 to 2,000 theaters nationwide. Throughout the week, social media was flooded with screenshots of poor pre-sales and empty theaters.
In Minnesota, the Mann Plymouth Grand 15 theater cancelled screenings altogether. The state is currently facing a widespread immigration crackdown; two residents of Minneapolis, Alex Pretti and Reneé Good, were killed in separate shootings by federal agents. On the same day as Pretti was shot, Melania was privately screened for a select audience at the White House.
Global demand for the documentary, meanwhile, remains low. In the U.K., a single seat was sold for the 9:40 a.m. showing at Sittingbourne’s Light cinema, according to a Guardian journalist who was the sole attendee. Notably—and somewhat shockingly—a Vue theater in Islington sold out its 3:10 p.m. showing of the film, per The Guardian. But many theaters across the country just had a smattering of seats sold across showtimes.
The film’s distribution was halted altogether in one nation: South Africa pulled Melania from all theaters. Thobashan Govindarajulu, Filmfinity’s head of sales and distribution, told the New York Times that, “Based on recent developments, we’ve taken the decision to not go ahead with a theatrical release in territory.”
Prior to its release on Friday, Melania was projected to bring in about $5 million, according to data from the National Research Group. This projection is similar to that of documentaries like After Death and Matt Walsh’s Am I Racist?, as reported by The Independent. Other estimates for Melania are even lower: Box Office Pro predicted a $1-2 million opening weekend.
But for a documentary, the numbers aren’t considered to be all that bad, as the Hollywood Reporter pointed out. The more alarming aspect of Melania’s box office projections is how much the film will earn relative to the staggering amount paid to make it. The first lady’s documentary was acquired by Amazon MGM, which allegedly spent $75 million on the acquisition and marketing. The first lady herself reportedly pocketed $28 million.
Despite the documentary’s harsh reception and alleged lack of sales, the first lady said a spinoff is in development.
“We are coming out with a docuseries,” she said at the Kennedy Center premiere of her film. “We are still producing it, and that will be completely new footage.”
President Donald Trump was asked about his wife’s Amazon deal during the premiere of the documentary, which took place on Thursday night at the Kennedy Center. A New York Times reporter asked the president about the “exorbitant fee” paid by Amazon the film. “Many Americans think that this is maybe Jeff Bezos trying to get in good with you, and they would call it an act of corporate corruption—” the reporter said before Trump interrupted.
“No, I don’t know, I mean, I don’t know really, I’m not involved in that. That was done with my wife,” the president shot back.
Melania, directed by Brett Ratner, is expected to stream on Amazon Prime in about three to four weeks.
