First lady’s film ‘Melania’ racks up biggest opening for a documentary in a decade

“Melania” opened to the best box office numbers for a documentary in a decade after premiering Thursday in close to 1,800 screens nationwide.

The documentary on the first lady, 55, directed by Brett Ratner, debuted to $7 million, surpassing recent hits like 2024’s “Am I Racist?” which opened to $5.4 million, Deadline reported.

The Amazon MGM Studios’ $75 million production is on track to be the best-performing non-fiction feature for 10 years, as Melania Trump wrote on X.

“MELANIA, the film. #1 Highest Opening In 10 Yrs (Doc) Loved By All – “A” CinemaScore,” she wrote, also reposting a message of congratulations from Elon Musk.

Older women made up the majority of the audience, with 72% of the opening-day tickets going to females aged over 55.

Theaters outside the northeast and west coast saw an outsized portion of the demand — with 46% of tickets in its first weekend. Arizona, Florida and Texas were the top ticket-buying states.

The movie, which was widely trashed by liberals who shared images of empty movie theaters in New York City, LA and Washington, DC, covers the 20 days in the first lady’s life leading up to President Trump’s second inauguration in January 2025.

It is expected to finish third in total box office takings for this week, behind horror movies “Iron Lung” and “Send Help,” according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Amazon spent an estimated $35 million on global marketing for the movie, which makes it the most expensive documentary in history.