First Lady Melania Trump goes to the movies as US President Donald Trump struggles to navigate a series of crises, including mounting economic concerns, threats of war against Iran and rising tensions over his aggressive mass deportation.
The documentary “Melania” details the first lady’s life over the 20 days leading up to her husband’s inauguration in January 2025, promising an intimate look at the notoriously low-key first lady.
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“Hello, Mr. President, congratulations,” Melania Trump says on the phone with her husband, who appears in the movie’s trailer. When asked if she had seen President Trump’s speech, she replied, “I haven’t. I’m going to watch it on the news.”
However, the film could not escape the controversy surrounding the Trump presidency. The film’s huge budget and executive producer Melania Trump’s huge paycheck have raised eyebrows as ultra-wealthy donors and tech executives seek support from the White House.
Here’s what you need to know about this documentary:
What is the movie about?
The 104-minute documentary follows Slovenian-American President Melania Trump during the nearly three weeks leading up to her husband’s inauguration on January 20, 2025. Amazon MGM Studios, which is distributing the film, says it will give viewers “unprecedented access” to Melania’s life.
The film’s producer, Mark Beckman, said in an interview this week that the first lady led the film’s creative direction.
“This is not a political movie at all,” Beckman said.
The film focuses on her fashion choices, diplomatic endeavors, and maneuvers surrounding Secret Service protection. Beckman said viewers will also see moments that capture the president’s sense of humor.
When will the movie be released in theaters?
The film will premiere Thursday at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., where President Trump asserted control and was appointed chairman.
First lady Melania Trump held a preview at the White House on January 24, attended by about 70 people, including several business executives. The first lady said in a social media post that she was “humbled” and called the release a “historic moment.”
The film was scheduled to be released Friday on about 1,600 screens around the world, including about 1,500 in the United States. The premiere will be shown simultaneously in 21 theaters nationwide for invited guests on Thursday to build excitement for the release.
What was Melania’s budget?
Amazon MGM Studios bought the rights to the film in a $40 million deal, adding $35 million to a splashy advertising campaign that included black-and-white projections of the film’s trailer at The Sphere in Las Vegas.
The New York Times reported that this figure also includes a related documentary that will be released later this year. Amazon paid about $26 million more than the second-highest bid for the film, Disney, and the film’s advertising budget is about 10 times that of other high-profile documentaries.
In addition to her film deal with Amazon/MGM Studios, Beckman, who produced the film, has directed a follow-up documentary series scheduled for release later this year that focuses on some of Melania Trump’s priorities, including children in foster care.
How much did the First Lady earn from that movie?
Melania Trump will serve as an executive producer on the film, giving her substantial editorial control over the film, and will receive 70% of the $40 million total, according to AFP.
What is advance ticket sales?
President Trump urged his supporters to see the movie, saying tickets were “sold out, hurry!”
According to Pac News, the National Research Group (NRG) predicts that the documentary is expected to gross about $5 million in its opening weekend in the United States and Canada.
Other numbers from market research firm Box Office are lower, with opening weekend ticket sales expected to be between $1 million and $2 million.
Neither estimate would put the film on track to break even. So far, no major publications have reviewed the film, but critical response is not expected to be overwhelming either.
The Guardian reports that the CEO of View, one of the UK’s largest cinema operators, said ticket sales had been “soft” so far, with only one ticket sold for the first screening on Friday at the company’s flagship Islington branch in London.
The film and its PR campaign have drawn ridicule on social media, with multiple internet users posting screenshots of movie theaters showing unsold seats for “Melania” screenings.
How does this film’s budget compare to other documentaries?
Analysts compared First Lady Melania to other famous documentaries.
In a CNN segment, polling analyst Harry Enten pointed out that Michael Moore’s 2004 documentary “Fahrenheit 9/11,” about the escalation of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, had a budget of $6 million, or just over $10 million adjusted for inflation.
The documentary grossed about $24 million in its opening weekend, of which about $41 million was adjusted for inflation, according to Enten.
“Melania, it’s nowhere near,” Enten added.
“Am I Racist?,” a satirical documentary by right-wing political commentator Matt Walsh that criticizes “woke” culture, grossed about $4.5 million in its opening weekend in 2024. It went on to become the highest-grossing documentary film of the year with a budget of just $3 million.
Another documentary by right-wing figure Dinesh D’Souza, “2016: Obama’s America,” has grossed $33.5 million domestically since its release in 2012. The film’s budget was $2.5 million, or approximately $3.5 million in inflation-adjusted dollars.
Who is the director of “Melania”?
It was directed by Brett Ratner, a film director known for the Rush Hour series.
His involvement marks an unexpected return to filmmaking after his career was severely derailed by a series of sexual assault allegations in 2017. Ratner has denied these allegations.
Beckman, who is also an advisor and agent to Melania Trump, told the Los Angeles Times that Ratner is “one of the most talented directors of our lifetime” who knows “not just how to make something great, but how to reach the passion and emotion of an audience.”
Ratner, 56, is also set to direct the fourth Rush Hour movie at Paramount Studios, which merged with Skydance Media in July with approval from the Trump administration.
“He was extremely talented,” Melania Trump told Fox. “He was a great player and a lot of fun to work with.”
Ratner shares producer credits with New Element Media’s First Lady Beckman and Fernando Sulitin. Filming began in December 2024.
As a result of the merger, David Ellison, the son of President Trump’s ally and Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, became the company’s executive director. President Trump reportedly urged Ellison to reboot the Rush Hour series.
Why is “Melania” so controversial?
The documentary’s high price tag, compared to relatively modest box office expectations, has led many to speculate that the film was purchased at an inflated price to curry favor with the Trump administration.
Trump’s second term has already come under intense scrutiny for his close ties to powerful donors and corporations who poured money into his lavish inaugural fund, his push to build a White House banquet hall, and his string of cryptocurrency holdings tied to Trump and his family.
A Bloomberg analysis found that during Trump’s first year in office, his family earned about $1.4 billion from crypto ventures, and Trump has treated the industry with a light touch, abandoning lawsuits and investigations into alleged wrongdoing by prominent funders.
In that context, some see the documentary as a major donation to a president known for his personal approach to the use of power.
Conversely, in South Africa, local media reported that the country’s major movie theaters stopped screening the documentary without providing further explanation to the distributor, citing “current circumstances”.
The South African government has strained relations with the Trump administration, which has repeatedly falsely accused Pretoria of being behind the “white genocide” of the Afrikaans community.
Nevertheless, Ted Hope, who worked at Amazon from 2015 to 2020 and played a key role in launching the company’s film division, suggested to the New York Times that Amazon’s purchase of the film “is tantamount to favor-seeking.”
“This has to be the most expensive documentary ever made that doesn’t involve music licensing,” Hope said. “There’s no way that wouldn’t be equated with favoritism or outright bribery.”
