Melania Trump's documentary, following the First Lady's journey to the White House has secured the strongest opening weekend for a non-concert documentary in more than 10 years, despite viral claims of "empty" cinemas around the world and critics preempting its downfall.
The film, which follows Ms Trump during the 20 days preceding her husband's second inauguration, substantially outperformed industry forecasts that had predicted takings of just $2-5million, generating between $7-8million in ticket sales across North America.
However, Melania experienced a weak opening in the UK, debuting at No. 29 in the box office chart following its release on January 30.
In it's first weekend, the film earned £32,974 across 155 cinemas and had a site average (which represents the average amount of money a movie earns at each individual location where it is shown) of £212.80, which is considered poor for a film with such a large-scale launch.
The film follows Melania Trump during the 20 days preceding her husband's second inauguration
| XSome screenings saw strikingly low attendance. For example, only one ticket was sold for the Friday afternoon screening at Vue’s flagship London cinema in Islington, and two for the evening show.
In Scotland, it was reported that only 1.04 per cent of available tickets in Vue cinemas were sold.
Despite its modest takings, sources say distributors felt a "sigh of relief" that it was not a total disaster, though its performance lagged far behind other documentaries with smaller releases, such as the Jacinda Ardern documentary Prime Minister, which achieved a site average five times higher.
The documentary attracted a notably older viewership, with Americans aged 55 and above comprising 78 per cent of ticket purchasers.
Republican-leaning counties in the USA generated 53 per cent of overall ticket purchases
| PAWomen in this age bracket proved particularly enthusiastic, representing 72 per cent of the opening weekend audience.
Rural cinemas in the USA contributed an unusually substantial share of domestic sales, accounting for 46 per cent of tickets sold, a figure significantly higher than typical for new releases.
Republican-leaning counties generated 53 per cent of overall ticket purchases, with Florida, Texas and Arizona emerging as the strongest performing markets.
The film screened across 1,778 domestic venues and an additional 1,600 international theatres spanning 27 countries.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
The film secured a 10 per cent approval rating from Rotten Tomatoes' professional critics
| ReutersBox office analysts noted that overseas performance lagged behind American figures, though Amazon has not disclosed some specific international sales data.
Despite a negative reception from film critics, with Variety describing it as "a documentary that never comes to life," characterising the work as "so orchestrated and airbrushed and stage-managed that it barely rises to the level of a shameless infomercial," on the whole, audiences who did watch the documentary responded with overwhelming enthusiasm.
The film secured a mere 10 per cent approval rating from Rotten Tomatoes' professional critics, yet the platform's viewer rating system recorded an extraordinary 99 per cent positive response.
Exit polls conducted by CinemaScore awarded the documentary an A grade, while Screen Engine/Comscore's PostTrak surveys showed audiences giving it five stars.
Certain screenings in the USA witnessed spontaneous applause during footage of the presidential swearing-in ceremony, with some audiences reportedly chanting "Trump 2028!"
One 60-year-old viewer from Staten Island told The New York Times that despite rarely attending cinemas, he purchased a ticket because he wanted to see the film "kick Hollywood's a**."
President Trump hailed the documentary's "BLOCKBUSTER" success on Truth Social.
Amazon allegedly invested $75million to acquire distribution rights and fund marketing for the Brett Ratner-directed production, making it the most expensive documentary ever made.
Donald Trump and Melania Trump | GETTYThe film secured third position at the weekend box office in the USA, trailing horror releases Send Help and Iron Lung whilst outperforming Jason Statham's action thriller Shelter.
With cinemas retaining approximately half of ticket revenue, Amazon has recouped roughly $3.5million from the film so far.