Here's a sentence you don't often write: A documentary about a First Lady secured one of the largest licensing deals in history and still can't fill theaters. 'Melania,' the self-titled film following Melania Trump in the days before her husband's January 20 inauguration, is facing practically empty presales ahead of its January 30 release—despite Amazon MGM Studios dropping a reported $40 million for distribution rights.
According to entertainment columnist Rob Shuter's Naughty But Nice newsletter, early projections estimate the film will open in the "low single-digit millions" domestically. Translation: somewhere between disappointing and catastrophic for a project this expensive. "In New York, only a handful of seats have been booked," one source told Shuter. "Palm Beach is no better. Even in Trump country, theaters are practically empty."
Let's put this in context. Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour sold out 4,200 screenings before opening and ultimately grossed $261.7 million worldwide. Granted, comparing Melania Trump to Taylor Swift is like comparing a state dinner to a stadium show—different audiences, different expectations. But the contrast illustrates just how badly this project is underperforming.
Amazon MGM Studios reportedly outbid Disney and Paramount for 'Melania,' banking on the kind of cultural fascination that typically surrounds the Trump family. The 104-minute film, directed by Brett Ratner (yes, that Brett Ratner), chronicles the notoriously private former Slovenian model during 20 days leading up to the inauguration—one of the rare occasions she's allowed extended camera access.
So what went wrong? Political fatigue seems like the obvious answer. After years of Trump saturation across news, social media, and every podcast hosted by someone with a microphone and opinions, audiences may have simply reached their limit. Or perhaps the issue is more specific: Melania herself has never cultivated the kind of public persona that translates to box office appeal. She's enigmatic, sure, but enigma without charisma is just... absence.
A second insider told Shuter: "People are curious. It's a high-profile project, but hype doesn't always translate into ticket sales." That's entertainment-speak for "we have no idea why this isn't working."
On Instagram Saturday, the 55-year-old First Lady posted a short teaser, which drew mixed reactions. Donald Trump Jr.'s ex-fiancée Kimberly Guilfoyle commented "Epic!" with a flame emoji, because of course she did. Other fans praised her as "the best First Lady ever," while critics suggested the film might be "worse than Carrot Top's Chairman of the Board"—which is legitimately one of the harshest comparisons in cinema history.
Donald Trump, never one to downplay anything, recently described premiere tickets as a "very hard get," claiming Wayne Gretzky and "everybody" wants in. The premiere happens January 29 at the recently renamed Trump Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., before the theatrical release the following day.
If presales are any indication, those premiere tickets may be the only ones anyone actually wants. The rest of America seems content to skip this particular glimpse behind the gilded curtain.
In Hollywood, nobody knows anything—except that a $40 million bet on Melania Trump's mystique looks increasingly like a miscalculation.
