After a better-than-expected opening weekend in theaters, box office for Amazon’s ‘Melania’ fell 67% in its second weekend to an estimated $2.37 million.
The documentary about First Melania Trump has grossed a total of $13.5 million to date (almost all of it in the U.S.). That means the film, which Amazon spent $40 million to acquire and $35 million to market, is extremely unlikely to break even in theaters.
Before ‘Melania’ was released, a former Amazon Films executive asked whether the price tag could be driven by anything other than a ‘favor’ or ‘outright bribery’ to the Trump administration.
Super Bowl weekend typically sees a slowdown in movie attendance, but the weekend’s top film, “Send Help,” only saw a 47% drop. And ‘Melania’ ranked 9th this time, following its 3rd place on the charts last weekend.
Perhaps anticipating discussion of the film’s decline, Amazon released a statement from its head of domestic theatrical distribution, Kevin Wilson. “Theatrics and streaming represent two distinct moments of value creation that together amplify the overall impact of movies,” he said.
“Melania” received universally negative reviews from critics, but it earned a 99% rating on Rotten Tomatoes so well that the site issued a statement claiming the score was real.
