A feature-length documentary centered on First Lady Melania Trump is facing early box-office trouble, with multiple theaters across major U.S. cities reporting little to no ticket sales on opening night, despite an aggressive promotional push from President Donald Trump and a wide theatrical rollout. Social media posts and industry tracking data suggest the film, Melania, is struggling to attract audiences even before its nationwide expansion.
In Boston, the city's largest AMC theater reportedly sold just one ticket across three Friday-night showings. Film producer Nate Gilbert wrote on X, "Not a single ticket sold for the opening night of Melania at Boston's largest theater." Similar reports circulated from other AMC and Regal locations, showing empty seating charts shortly before scheduled screenings.
Online reactions quickly split along political lines. One user responded to Gilbert's post by writing, "Yesterday in Ft Lauderdale. Plenty of seats sold." Another countered, "Not a single ticket sold for Avatar on the same day... LOW IQ post." A third wrote, "Barely any good seats left in Jacksonville, a purple city with a dem mayor. This is the 7:15 pm showing on opening night. Pretty good for a political doc."
Critics were more blunt. One reply read, "Shocker. Who would've thought that a fabricated documentary about how a Slovenian hooker who fucked her way to the White House and married a pedophile at the instruction of a sex trafficker wouldn't fill the place. People know trash when they see it." Another user urged, "To my American friends, please don't pay to go see this slop," while a separate post stated, "No one wants to see anything to do with that family, especially a film."
President Trump, however, painted a starkly different picture. Promoting the documentary on Truth Social, he wrote, "MELANIA, the Movie, is a MUST WATCH. Get your tickets today - Selling out, FAST!" His assertion drew mockery from critics and entertainment commentators, who pointed to theater booking pages showing rows of empty seats.
Early industry forecasts reinforce the skepticism. The National Research Group projects the film could earn about $5 million during its opening window, while Boxoffice Pro estimates a more modest $1 million to $2 million. Those figures fall well short of expectations given the scale of the release and the reported marketing spend.
Sparse attendance has not been limited to Boston. In New York City, only two seats were reportedly reserved at Times Square cinemas by Saturday evening, with several screenings showing zero bookings. In the United Kingdom, early sales were also described as weak, with London Vue cinemas reporting only a handful of tickets sold for initial showings.
The film has also attracted controversy beyond ticket sales. Director Brett Ratner, who has not released a major film since 2014, has remained a polarizing figure following sexual misconduct allegations made against him in 2017. Reports from inside the production have described a chaotic filming process and unease among some crew members over what they characterized as a propagandistic tone.
Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez added to the criticism in a post on X, writing, "Today DHS assassinated a VA nurse in the street, Bondi is attempting to extort voter files, and half the country is bracing on the eve of a potentially crippling ice storm with FEMA gutted." She continued, "So what is the President up to? Having a movie night at the White House. He's unfit."
The documentary, set to screen in at least 1,400 theaters worldwide, reportedly cost Amazon MGM Studios about $75 million, combining acquisition rights and marketing. It chronicles Melania Trump's activities during the 20 days leading up to President Trump's second inauguration, promising behind-the-scenes access to her family life, business interests, and role as First Lady.
