'Melania' earns $8M opening weekend, marking best documentary debut in over 10 years

“Melania,” the documentary detailing the 20 days in the first lady’s life before President Donald Trump took office for the second time last year, is set to beat expectations, earning $8 million at the box office in its opening weekend, the best documentary opening in more than a decade, according to reports. 

The documentary will likely finish third behind horror films “Iron Lung” and Rachel McAdams’ “Send Help,” but beat out action star Jason Statham’s “Shelter,” according to The Hollywood Reporter. 

Amazon paid $75 million for the distribution rights and to market the Brett Ratner-directed film, which opened across the country this weekend and in 27 countries, making it the most expensive documentary in history, according to The Reporter.  

The first lady was also an executive producer on the project, which was produced by Muse Films, a production company the first lady launched late last year.

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The strong box office showing was thanks mainly to Americans over 55 years old, who made up 78% of ticket buyers, and especially women over 55 who were 72%, according to The Reporter.

Theaters in rural areas also brought in an outsize 46% of the weekend draw, which is unusually high for an opening. Florida, Texas and Arizona were the top ticket-selling states.

The film has received mixed reviews, with some critics slamming it as propaganda for the Trump administration.

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A 60-year-old Staten Island man who told The New York Times he rarely goes to the theater, said he bought a ticket for “Melania” to see it “kick Hollywood’s a–.”

The Times reported that in at least one screening, attendees erupted in applause during the president’s swearing-in and there were shouts of “Trump 2028!”

A review from Variety, however, called it a “documentary that never comes to life. It’s a ‘portrait’ of the First Lady of the United States, but it’s so orchestrated and airbrushed and stage-managed that it barely rises to the level of a shameless infomercial.”

The premiere of “Melania” was held in Washington, D.C. on Thursday at the newly named Trump Kennedy Center with guests like Robert F. Kennedy Jr, Dr. Mehmet Oz, Nicki Minaj, Patriots owner Robert Kraft, and former New York Mayor Eric Adams.

“I hope they get to see what I see,” U.S. attorney Alina Habba told Fox News Digital at the premiere. “She is incredibly astute. She is incredibly involved. She does everything with grace. She has taken the punches right next to him and always held herself out with such grace. And I’m happy that for a woman who’s a girl boss, who’s literally a legend, and should have been on the cover of Vogue, she’s going to have her time to shine.”

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Michael Moore’s “Fahrenheit 9/11,” about former President George W. Bush and the 2001 terrorist attacks on America, is the record-holder for the highest-grossing documentary of all time, earning $119 million in 2004, around $208 million when adjusted for inflation, according to The Reporter.