Amazon’s ‘Melania’ documentary stumbles in second weekend

Posted: 2:41 PM PST · February 8, 2026

After a better-than-expected opening weekend in theaters, box office receipts for Amazon’s “Melania” plummeted by 67%, bringing in an estimated $2.37 million during its second weekend. This sharp decline in viewership marks a significant setback for the highly scrutinized documentary about former First Lady Melania Trump, casting a long shadow over its theatrical viability and Amazon’s substantial investment.

The documentary’s cumulative gross now stands at approximately $13.5 million, with the vast majority of these earnings originating from the United States market. This figure stands in stark contrast to Amazon’s considerable financial outlay for the project: a reported $40 million to acquire the film and an additional $35 million allocated for its marketing campaign, totaling an estimated $75 million investment. Given the current trajectory and the substantial gap between its box office performance and its production and marketing costs, industry analysts widely consider it extremely improbable that the film will manage to break even solely through its theatrical release. The conventional distribution model typically sees studios retaining only a portion of ticket sales, often around 50-60%, with the remainder going to theater owners, further exacerbating the challenge of recouping such a large investment through ticket sales alone.

The financial rationale behind Amazon’s acquisition of “Melania” had been a subject of intense debate even prior to its release. A former Amazon film executive, speaking anonymously to The New York Times, openly questioned the high price tag, suggesting that it could only be motivated by intentions beyond standard commercial considerations. The executive provocatively asked how such an expense could be justified, positing whether it was “currying favor” with the Trump administration or potentially “an outright bribe.” Such comments highlighted the unusual nature of the investment, especially for a documentary, a genre that typically commands far smaller acquisition fees and rarely achieves blockbuster box office success. The implication was that Amazon might have strategic motives beyond pure profit, potentially seeking political leverage or public relations benefits in a highly polarized media landscape.

The film’s second-weekend performance was particularly disappointing when viewed in the context of broader industry trends. While moviegoing typically experiences a slowdown during Super Bowl weekend, “Melania”‘s steep drop-off was notably more severe than its peers. For instance, “Send Help,” the weekend’s top-grossing film, saw its box office decline by a comparatively modest 47%. This disparity suggests that “Melania”‘s poor showing cannot be entirely attributed to the seasonal lull associated with the Super Bowl, but rather points to a significant drop in audience interest specific to the documentary itself. After a respectable debut that saw it place third on the box office charts, “Melania” tumbled to ninth place in its second weekend, indicating a rapid erosion of its initial audience appeal and momentum.

In anticipation of the inevitable discussion surrounding the film’s sharp decline in performance, Amazon issued a statement through its head of domestic theatrical distribution, Kevin Wilson. Wilson emphasized the integrated nature of Amazon’s distribution strategy, stating, “Together, theatrical and streaming represent two distinct value creating moments that amplify the film’s overall impact.” This statement suggests that Amazon views the theatrical release not merely as a direct revenue generator, but as a crucial component of a broader strategy to build buzz, critical awareness (even if negative), and ultimately drive viewership to its Prime Video streaming platform. The theatrical run, in this view, serves as a marketing launchpad, designed to elevate the film’s profile before its inevitable digital debut, where it can contribute to subscriber engagement and retention. However, for a film with such a high upfront investment, the degree to which streaming success can offset such significant theatrical losses remains a key question for industry observers.

Adding another layer of complexity to the film’s narrative is its highly polarized reception. “Melania” garnered universally negative reviews from professional critics, as reflected by its abysmal scores on aggregation sites like Metacritic. Critics broadly panned the documentary for various reasons, including its perceived lack of depth, its narrative choices, and its overall artistic merit. This critical consensus painted a picture of a film that failed to impress reviewers on nearly all fronts.

Conversely, the film received an overwhelmingly positive audience rating of 99% on Rotten Tomatoes. This stark divergence between critical and audience reception is not uncommon for politically charged films, but the extreme nature of the disparity for “Melania” was so pronounced that Rotten Tomatoes itself felt compelled to issue a statement. The platform confirmed the authenticity of the audience score, addressing concerns that it might have been artificially inflated or manipulated. This unusual step underscored the intensity of the public and industry scrutiny surrounding the film and its reception, highlighting how a project involving such a prominent political figure could elicit vastly different responses from different segments of the viewing public. The significant gap between critical consensus and audience sentiment often indicates a film that resonates strongly with a particular demographic, even if it fails to meet the broader standards of film criticism.

The trajectory of Amazon’s “Melania” documentary from a controversial acquisition to a struggling theatrical release serves as a compelling case study in the evolving landscape of film distribution and content strategy. While Amazon’s Kevin Wilson articulated a vision where theatrical and streaming efforts combine for amplified impact, the steep financial hurdles and mixed reception present a formidable challenge to the film’s overall success and the justification of its initial, high-stakes investment. The industry will undoubtedly watch closely to see how the film performs on Prime Video and how its performance ultimately influences Amazon’s future content acquisition and distribution decisions, particularly concerning high-profile, politically charged projects.