The controversy making the biggest waves this second weekend of theatrical release is the documentary “Melania,” focused on reported First Lady Melania Trump. The movie made just $2.37 million in that span, which is a whopping 67% drop from its first weekend glory. To date, “Melania” has earned a total of $13.5 million, mostly from United States audiences.
Though Amazon had originally bought the documentary for $40 million, it was saddled with an added $35 million marketing cost. So, naturally analysts are eyeing its existing box office trajectory with great interest. They are indicating it won’t be able to recover its production costs based on theatrical grosses alone.
As an educational project, “Melania” is designed to inform people about the Take It Down Act, important legislation that would help protect victims of real and deepfake “revenge pornography.” For all its earnest intentions, the documentary has been pummeled by critics with 100 percent negative reviews. In sharp contrast, audience reviews paint an entirely different picture. “Melania” currently enjoys an impressive 99% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. The platform has officially acknowledged the legitimacy of this audience score as they face the wrath of an outrage-criticizing mob.
In its opening weekend, “Melania” even rocketed up to third place in the overall box office rankings. It dropped like a rock to ninth place in its second weekend. This extreme drop makes its stay in theatres seem uncertain at best.
Kevin Wilson, an Amazon spokesperson, when asked about the film’s simultaneous theater/home release strategy said,
“Together, theatrical and streaming represent two distinct value creating moments that amplify the film’s overall impact.”
This perspective suggests that Amazon may be banking on streaming platforms to bolster the film’s financial performance in the future.
With that backdrop, the documentary profiling Melania Trump, the U.S. First Lady, has definitely raised eyebrows. This hype hasn’t led to commercial success. With Oppenheimer still playing in theaters, the film is sure to be a case study among industry insiders as all eyes track its performance compared to projections.