Michelle Obama’s documentary Becoming has surged on Netflix just as Melania Trump’s new film opened in theaters — and the timing has triggered a wave of online backlash. Viewers noticed that as Obama’s numbers climbed sharply, her documentary briefly appeared miscategorized on the platform, fueling claims that Netflix was favoring Melania’s release.
The spike is not subtle.
According to data provider Luminate, Becoming saw a 13,000 percent jump in U.S. viewership over the same weekend Melania Trump’s documentary, Melania, debuted in cinemas. More than 47.5 million minutes were streamed, up from 354,000 minutes the previous weekend. That translates to roughly 480,000 full streams in just days.
Hey @netflix why the re-categorization of Michelle Obama’s documentary? Stop gaming the system because people chose to watch ‘Becoming’ instead of Melania. pic.twitter.com/F30s0eWrGS
— Jayson Keith (@IamJaysonB) February 4, 2026
The 2020 Netflix film follows Michelle Obama on her book tour for her bestselling memoir. It offers personal reflections on her upbringing in Chicago, her family, and her years in the White House.
Melania’s film, produced by Amazon MGM, focuses on the 20 days leading up to President Donald Trump’s second inauguration. It opened January 30 and grossed $7 million domestically across 1,778 theaters — the biggest opening for a non-fiction feature in the past decade. Amazon reportedly paid $40 million for the project and spent millions more on marketing.
As Becoming climbed into Netflix’s trending titles, some users noticed the film had been placed in the children’s section. Screenshots circulated widely. Netflix has not publicly detailed how long the classification error lasted, but the discovery ignited anger online.
Since the release of “Melania,” First Lady Michelle Obama’s 2020 documentary has seen a 13,000% increase in viewership, being streamed on Netflix for 47.5 million minutes in the first two days.
Drop a 💙 if you love Michelle Obama pic.twitter.com/LGNFAwUNDm
— Protect Kamala Harris ✊ (@DisavowTrump20) February 6, 2026
“They’re big mad this documentary was way more successful,” one user wrote, echoing a phrase that quickly gained traction across X and Threads.
Another user posted directly at the streaming giant: “You may want to put Michelle Obama’s ‘Becoming’ back where it belongs, ASAP, instead of the Kids’ section.”
Speculation escalated when some users connected the situation to President Trump’s reported purchase of Netflix bonds late last year. No evidence has been presented linking that investment to content placement decisions, and Netflix has not suggested any outside influence over its catalog organization. Still, the timing became part of the online narrative.
While social media churned, Trump promoted his wife’s project publicly. At a White House event tied to the film’s release, he dismissed concerns about ticket sales.
“It’s a very tough business in theaters selling movie tickets after Covid,” he said. “I think this will do unbelievable — streaming and everything.”
Melania received sharply divided critical reviews, including a one-star rating that described it as “transparently not a documentary.” Apparently, two-thirds of crew members asked to have their names removed from the credits. Neither claim has altered the film’s planned release on Prime Video following its theatrical run.
David Ellison, the CEO of Paramount, told Donald Trump he’d make “sweeping changes” if he’d support Paramount’s hostile bid to takeover Netflix.
He just refused to talk about it under oath.
Suspicious. pic.twitter.com/9Y75ZqtjVS
— Senate Judiciary Democrats 🇺🇸 (@JudiciaryDems) February 3, 2026
Meanwhile, Becoming continues to draw renewed attention six years after its debut.
In the documentary, Obama reflects on her public life and the weight of expectation that came with it. At one point she says, “My story is your story,” a line that resurfaced widely this week as clips circulated again.
Netflix has not announced any algorithm changes tied to either film. The platform’s trending rankings are driven by user viewing hours. For now, the numbers tell a straightforward story— one documentary opened in theaters with strong initial sales, the other surged dramatically on streaming at the same time.
The rest — placement errors, bond purchases, and motive — remains in the hands of viewers watching it unfold in real time.
