Melania documentary touts 'record' opening despite poor reviews

Melania Trump has been celebrating the theatrical release of Melania, a Brett Ratner-directed Prime Video documentary about the 20 days leading up to her husband’s second inauguration in January 2025, which opened in cinemas on January 30, 2026. On X she wrote: "MELANIA, the film.

#1 Highest Opening In 10 Yrs (Doc) Loved By All - 'A' CinemaScore." The film brought in almost $3 million in its first 24 hours of theatrical release. MovieWeb noted projections put the film at roughly $8 million for its opening weekend, a figure the report said is the highest opening for a non-music, cinematic documentary in 10 years.

The outlet also pointed out the film faces a steep financial bar: it must at least break even with a $40 million budget to justify its international big-screen rollout. Critics were largely negative. Melania held an 11% score on the Rotten Tomatometer at the time of the report, and early screenings drew criticism both for the film and for how its premiere was handled: according to Variety, the Jan.

29 screening at the Trump Kennedy Center was closed to numerous outlets, with critics from The New York Times, The Washington Post, Vanity Fair and the Associated Press not granted entry. Reviews cited in the report were scathing. Variety wrote that the film "feels like it's been stitched together out of the most innocuous outtakes from a reality show.

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