While Melania Trump is making headlines again, her high-profile documentary is losing steam.
Director Brett Ratner’s “Melania,” which followed the first lady in the 20 days leading up to her husband Donald Trump‘s second presidential inauguration, surpassed box-office expectations when it was released in theaters in January. But the doc has cooled following its March 9 streaming premiere on Amazon’s Prime Video.A day after its Prime premiere, “Melania” was the most-streamed film on the service’s movie charts – a feat that the first lady celebrated on X.
According to Nielsen Streaming Content Ratings, “Melania” placed seventh in the top 10 streaming movies its first week on Prime with 230 million minutes of viewing. In comparison, the top movie – “Zootopia 2” – scored 1,715 minutes on Disney+ followed by Netflix’s “War Machine” with 989.
The documentary, the the debut project from the first lady’s new production company Muse Films, received a splashy premiere at the Trump-Kennedy Center and went on to make $16.7 million worldwide. Jeff Bezos’ Amazon MGM Studios purchased the project for $40 million, and reportedly spent another $35 million on marketing. Studios typically try to recoup costs or grow revenue from films once they go to streaming.
“Melania” proved polarizing among critics and viewers: On RottenTomatoes.com, the movie holds a 10% score from reviewers and 98% approval from audience members.Watch it here: Stream your favorite shows, the biggest blockbusters and more.
And last month Democratic lawmakers including Sen. Elizabeth Warren sent a letter questioning Amazon over concerns that its deal for the documentary failed to comply with federal anti-bribery laws.
A companion docuseries to “Melania” is expected to hit Prime Video this year.
Contributing: Anthony Robledo and Kinsey Crowley.
