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A new documentary centered on First Lady Melania Trump opened in U.S. theaters this weekend, with box office numbers that surpassed industry expectations.
The film, directed by Brett Ratner and backed by Amazon MGM Studios, was projected to earn about $8 million domestically during its opening weekend, according to industry estimates.
Analysts say that figure would mark the strongest opening for a documentary in roughly ten years, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Filmed in the weeks leading up to President Donald Trump’s 2025 inauguration, the documentary presents a stylized look at First Lady Melania Trump’s role and her return to the White House. The release was accompanied by a wide marketing push, including promotional events in Las Vegas and a world premiere at the Trump-Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
The film opened broadly in theaters across North America and in several international markets. The documentary from Amazon MGM Studios debuted in more than 1,500 theaters across North America and was initially projected to earn about $5 million, a figure that would already rank as a respectable opening for the genre. Instead, the film exceeded forecasts and is now being cited by box office analysts as the biggest debut for a non-music documentary in more than 10 years.
The release landed at No. 3 at the weekend box office, trailing Markiplier’s independently financed film Iron Lung and Sam Raimi’s Send Help.
Kevin Wilson, Amazon MGM Studios’ head of domestic theatrical distribution, praised the film’s “strong start,” though he cautioned that it remains premature to declare the release a major success for the company.
Amazon reportedly invested around $40 million to acquire the documentary, which was directed by Brett Ratner, and committed an additional estimated $35 million toward marketing. That level of promotional spending is unusually high for a political documentary.
Audience reaction has been overwhelmingly favorable. On the review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes, viewers have given the film a 99% audience score.