President Donald Trump publicly celebrated First Lady Melania Trump’s documentary debut this week, boasting that his wife has become a “big movie star” following the film’s record-setting opening at the box office — the strongest documentary launch in more than a decade.
Speaking at the Board of Peace event in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, Trump praised the film’s commercial performance with characteristic enthusiasm. “She has a very successful movie out right now, like number one. Can you believe this?” he told the crowd, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
He then joked that Melania’s new star status posed a domestic dilemma. “Big movie star, and I always say it’s trouble, because I always say there’s not room in one family for two stars,” Trump said. “I told her we can’t have two stars in one family, so I don’t know what that means, but it’s not good. But it is good because we’re proud of her.”
Melania Documentary Opens to $7–$8 Million at the Box Office
Melania, directed by Brett Ratner and released by Amazon MGM Studios on January 30, 2026, opened to between $7 million and $8 million in its opening weekend — surpassing industry projections that had forecast roughly $5 million in ticket sales.
The film landed in third place nationally that weekend, trailing horror films Send Help ($20 million) and Iron Lung ($17.9 million), but edging out Jason Statham’s action pic Shelter, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Box office analysts noted the opening as the best debut for a non-concert, non-Disney documentary in over ten years.
Industry newsletter writer David A. Gross called it “an excellent opening for a political documentary, at more than double the average for the genre,” according to NPR.
Who Showed Up — and Where
Audience demographics skewed heavily toward older, conservative women. According to NBC News, approximately 70% of ticket buyers were female, and 72% were over the age of 55. Roughly 78% of the opening weekend audience identified as white, per Fox News.
Geographically, the strongest markets were Dallas, Orlando, Tampa, Phoenix, Houston, Atlanta, and West Palm Beach — all in states Donald Trump carried in the 2024 presidential election. Rural theaters accounted for an unusually high 46% of the weekend draw, per The Hollywood Reporter.
On Truth Social, Trump posted “BLOCKBUSTER!” alongside a link to the film’s Amazon page shortly after early box office numbers came in, per CNN.
A Record-Breaking — and Controversial — Production
The Melania documentary is the centerpiece of a deal widely scrutinized for its extraordinary financial terms. Amazon MGM Studios paid $40 million for worldwide licensing rights — the highest price ever paid for a commissioned documentary — and reportedly spent another $35 million on a global marketing campaign. According to the Wall Street Journal, as cited by CNN, Melania Trump’s personal cut from the deal appears to exceed $28 million.
Critics and ethics watchdogs have raised concerns about the transaction. Don Fox, who served as acting director of the U.S. Office of Government Ethics, stated the deal appeared designed to curry favor with the White House, according to Wikipedia’s sourced entry on the film. Amazon has maintained the acquisition was made solely because “customers are going to love it.”
Ratner, who has not directed a major production since multiple women accused him of sexual misconduct in 2017 — allegations he has denied and for which he was never charged — was described as the only filmmaker considered for the project.
Critical Panning vs. Audience Enthusiasm
Despite the box office momentum, critical reception for the Melania documentary has been largely negative. The film currently holds an 11% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes, with the site’s consensus describing it as offering “great pomp and circumstance but little insight.” However, the audience score on the platform stands at 98%, reflecting the sharp partisan divide in reception, per Newsweek.
The documentary received an “A” CinemaScore from opening weekend audiences — a strong indicator of word-of-mouth potential among its core demographic.
What Comes Next for the Melania Documentary
Following a steep 67% drop in its second week — earning $2.4 million — the film has continued declining in the box office rankings, falling from No. 3 to No. 15 by its third week. Its total domestic gross stands at approximately $15.8 million as of mid-February 2026.
Amazon MGM Studios says it is playing the long game. Distribution chief Kevin Wilson stated the theatrical run is intended to build awareness ahead of the film’s eventual debut on Amazon Prime Video, where a follow-up docuseries is also planned. No streaming premiere date has been officially announced.
As of now, the Melania documentary’s full financial viability remains an open question — but President Trump, for one, appears convinced the story is still just beginning.
📌 Did You Know? The Melania documentary is the most expensive non-concert documentary ever made — with Amazon MGM Studios paying $40 million for worldwide licensing rights and an additional $35 million on marketing, totaling a staggering $75 million investment for a single film about a sitting first lady.