Amazon's big-budget gamble on the 'Melania' documentary is hitting turbulence. After a surprisingly strong theatrical debut last weekend, the film about First Lady Melania Trump nosedived 67% in its second weekend, pulling in just $2.37 million according to Variety. With $13.5 million in total domestic box office against a combined $75 million in acquisition and marketing costs, the project's theater run looks unlikely to break even - raising fresh questions about whether this was a business decision or something else entirely.
Amazon is learning an expensive lesson about mixing politics and entertainment. The company's 'Melania' documentary just posted a brutal 67% decline in its second theatrical weekend, dropping from third to ninth place at the box office with an estimated $2.37 million in ticket sales.
The numbers tell a stark story. Box Office Mojo data shows the film has grossed $13.5 million total - almost entirely from U.S. theaters - against Amazon's staggering investment of $40 million to acquire the rights and another $35 million in marketing spend. Even for a company of Amazon's scale, that's a significant miss.
What makes the decline particularly notable is the timing. Sure, Super Bowl weekend traditionally sees softer moviegoing, but the weekend's top film 'Send Help' only dropped 47%. The Melania documentary's steeper fall suggests audience interest evaporated faster than typical seasonal patterns would explain.
Before the film even hit theaters, former Amazon film executives were raising eyebrows about the price tag. One told The New York Times they couldn't see how the deal could be motivated by anything other than "currying favor" with the Trump administration or constituted "an outright bribe." Those comments look prescient now that the theatrical math clearly doesn't work.
