Amazon’s documentary “Melania,” centered on former First Lady Melania Trump, saw a steep decline in its second weekend at the box office, signaling trouble for the film’s theatrical prospects after an initially stronger-than-expected debut. The documentary earned an estimated $2.37 million in its second weekend, a 67% drop from its opening, pushing its total domestic gross to about $13.5 million.
The sharp fall makes it highly unlikely that “Melania” will recoup its investment through theaters alone. Amazon reportedly paid $40 million to acquire the film and spent an additional $35 million on marketing, bringing total costs to roughly $75 million. Nearly all of the film’s box office revenue has come from the United States, leaving little room for international markets to offset the losses.
Even before its release, the documentary drew scrutiny over its economics. A former Amazon film executive publicly questioned how the acquisition price could be justified, suggesting it was motivated by an effort to curry favor with the Trump administration or amounted to what they described as an outright bribe. Those comments gained renewed attention as the film’s theatrical performance faltered.
While moviegoing typically slows during Super Bowl weekend, the decline for “Melania” was notably steeper than the broader market. The weekend’s top film, “Send Help,” fell 47% in the same period, while “Melania,” which ranked third at the box office the previous weekend, dropped to ninth place. The comparison has fueled debate over whether the film’s falloff can be attributed solely to seasonal factors.
Anticipating questions about the downturn, Amazon emphasized that theatrical performance is only one part of the film’s overall strategy. Kevin Wilson, the company’s head of domestic theatrical distribution, said in a statement that theatrical and streaming releases represent “two distinct value creating moments that amplify the film’s overall impact,” signaling that Amazon is looking beyond box office receipts to justify the project.
Critical reception has done little to help the film’s momentum. “Melania” received overwhelmingly negative reviews from professional critics. At the same time, the documentary posted a striking 99% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, a figure so unusually high that the site issued a statement affirming the rating’s authenticity. The contrast between critics and audiences has become part of the conversation surrounding the film.
With its rapid second-weekend drop and high upfront costs, “Melania” now appears positioned less as a theatrical success and more as a test case for how far Amazon is willing to stretch traditional metrics in pursuit of political, cultural, or streaming-driven value.
