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On January 14, 2026, the movie poster of the documentary “Melania” starring US First Lady Melania Trump was displayed at a subway station in New York, USA.
Gina Moon | Reuters
Amazon’s “Melania” premiered this weekend and grossed $7 million at the domestic box office, the highest-grossing record for a non-music documentary in more than a decade.
Documentaries are generally not a major box office driver, with most films over the past decade debuting under $5 million and grossing between $10 million and $20 million worldwide, according to Comscore. Documentaries and concert films produced by popular music artists often exceed these numbers due to their inherent fan bases.
Notably, Michael Moore’s “Fahrenheit 9/11” holds the record for the highest opening of a political documentary with $23.9 million. Released in 2004, the film also holds the domestic record for the highest-grossing political documentary with a box office of $119 million.
“We are very encouraged by the strong start and positive audience response, with ‘Melania’’s early box office exceeding our expectations,” said Kevin Wilson, head of domestic theatrical distribution for Amazon MGM Studios. “This momentum is an important first step in what we see as the long tail life of the film and upcoming docuseries, extending well beyond the theatrical window, and we believe this will be an important run for our service.”
The Melania Trump documentary was acquired by the tech giant, which operates streaming service Prime Video, for around $40 million, with reports that the company spent almost the same amount on marketing the film.
Ticket sales are driven primarily by women and moviegoers over 55, who account for 70% or more of box office revenue. Additionally, rural theaters accounted for 46% of total box office revenue, according to EntTelligence. Typically, these theaters operating in areas with populations of less than 500,000 account for about 30% of movie ticket sales.
EntTelligence estimates that 600,000 moviegoers watched the film over the weekend.
While review sites were awash with strong audience reviews — 99 percent of reviews on Rotten Tomatoes’ “Popcornmeter” came from more than 500 users — the critical response was harsher. “Melania” received an 11% rating from 19 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, including many critics Call this documentary “propaganda.”
Disclosure: Versant Media is the parent company of Rotten Tomatoes and CNBC.
