Depite an expanded release to some 2,000 screens, the gushing enthusiasm recorded on the vox pop Popcornometer is not powering a word-of-mouth hit
Melania, Brett Ratner’s authorised documentary following the first lady in the 20 days preceding Donald Trump’s January 2025 inauguration, has dipped 67% in its second week of release in the US.
The film outpaced expectations over its first weekend, taking in $7.2m domestically and leading Amazon to expand their rollout from around 1,500 venues to just over 2,000. But indications are that appetite had already been sated, with Sunday projections standing at $2.3m, meaning a drop from No 3 to No 10 in the US box office charts.
Amazon pre-empted this disappointment with a statement on Saturday, flagging the film’s already healthy performance, as well as what they hope will be long streaming legs.
“Melania’s strong theatrical performance is a critical first moment that validates our holistic distribution strategy, building awareness, engagement and provides momentum ahead of the film’s eventual debut on Prime Video,” said Amazon MGM distribution chief Kevin Wilson.
