Amazon MGM Studio’s documentary about first lady Melania Trump delivered a stunning upset to the entertainment industry, raking in $7 million at the box office and leaving Hollywood executives scrambling to explain their miscalculations.
Industry analysts had projected the film would earn a modest $1 million to $2 million during its opening weekend, according to media reports.
The actual numbers tell a drastically different story, with the documentary becoming the highest-grossing documentary in 14 years, excluding concert films.
The film ranked third overall in last weekend’s box office releases.
In a particularly notable achievement, it outperformed action star Jason Statham’s new release “Shelter,” which opened to just $5 million.
The Daily Mail reported that according to a Disney executive, confidence in the film’s failure ran so high that people placed substantial wagers in Las Vegas betting it would gross under a million dollars.
Those bets did not pay off.
The documentary follows the First Lady during the 20 days leading up to President Donald Trump’s second inauguration in January 2025.
Jeff Bezos and Amazon invested heavily in the project, with a reported $40 million production budget and an additional $35 million marketing spend.
The first lady herself reportedly received $28 million of the production budget for her participation. The financial risk appears to have paid off for all parties involved.
Theater owners reported particularly strong performance among women over 55.
Sellout crowds appeared in Florida cities including Tampa, Orlando and West Palm Beach.
Cinemas in Dallas and Houston reported audiences cheering and giving standing ovations. Strong ticket sales were also recorded in Phoenix, Atlanta and throughout Orange County, California.
Critics panned the film harshly. Variety described it as “a piece of state-sanctioned propaganda out of 1960s Communist China.” The Hollywood Reporter dismissed it by stating that calling it a hagiography “would be an insult to hagiographies.”
Despite critical disapproval, the commercial success has prompted Amazon to accelerate plans for expanded Trump family content. A three-part documentary exploring the first lady’s life in greater depth will air “sooner rather than later, ” a source told the Daily Mail.
Additional documentaries focusing on Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, and his wife Lara Trump are reportedly in development.
Sources indicate director Brett Ratner may be working on a comprehensive behind-the-scenes project about the president himself, Resist the Mainstream previously reported.
Ratner, whose films including the Rush Hour franchise have generated over $9.3 billion globally, faced industry backlash in 2017 when the Los Angeles Times published accusations from six women alleging sexual misconduct.
Ratner categorically denied the claims, and no criminal charges were filed.
The director recently appeared on “Piers Morgan Uncensored” to address his appearance in recently released Epstein files.
He stated he was invited to meet Jeffrey Epstein by his then-fiancée and never saw the convicted offender before or after that single encounter, the Daily Mail highlighted.
The outlet further noted that friends of Ratner report he feels vindicated by the documentary’s performance. According to sources, the first lady’s senior advisor Marc Beckman approached Ratner to direct the project, and he moved into a villa at Mar-a-Lago during production.
