The much-discussed Melania documentary is set for a streaming release on Prime Video after earning an abysmal 11% Rotten Tomatoes score and setting a box office record. Following the First Lady of the United States during the days leading up to her husband Donald Trump’s second presidential inauguration, Melania was released in theaters on January 30 and set a box office record by debuting to $7 million in its opening weekend, the highest opening for a non-concert documentary since 2012. Now, a month later, Melania will make its premiere on Prime Video on March 9, per The Hollywood Reporter.
Directed by Brett Ratner (Rush Hour), his first film since facing multiple sexual misconduct allegations, Melania follows the First Lady of the United States during the 20 days leading up to her husband Donald Trump’s second presidential inauguration, from her meeting with her fashion designer, discussions with an interior decorator, attending Jimmy Carter’s funeral, and various diplomatic discussions. Melania was met with overwhelmingly negative reviews, earning an abysmal 11% Rotten Tomatoes score, with critics saying that the documentary claims to offer an intimate look at the First Lady but ultimately reveals very little about her, though it is presented with considerable pomp and ceremony. Many critics were much harsher, calling the documentary self-promotional and propagandistic, while Amazon’s substantial spending on its production and marketing sparked debate about the motives behind their financing and distributing the project.
Melania Trump looking serious while sitting at a desk in MelaniaMuse Films/Amazon MGM Studios
Though it set the aforementioned record, Melania’s momentum didn’t continue after that, and it ended up bombing at the box office by grossing only $16.6 million against its $40 million production budget, one of the most expensive documentaries in history.
However, audiences who were inclined to see the documentary in theaters were approving, indicated by Melania’s 99% Rotten Tomatoes score from that group, who consider it an observational behind-the-scenes portrait of the First Lady that is as refined, poised, gracious, and stylish as its subject. With a budget that big, which they were unable to recoup at the box office, Amazon is surely hoping that the Melania documentary will draw presidential-level viewership on Prime Video.
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