First Lady Melania Trump spent almost all of December and January promoting her documentary Melania. Unfortunately, her movie didn’t perform very well at the box office, prompting Amazon to make a major streaming decision. This might just be their last effort to make back the $75 million they’ve spent on the movie.
Melania featured the journey of the FLOTUS during the few days before her husband, President Donald Trump’s, second presidency was inaugurated. It centred around Melania’s POV and gave the audience a glimpse into her life behind the scenes.
However, the movie’s release was ill-timed because it was being promoted around a very busy Christmas period. Following this, the release of other highly anticipated movies and then the Super Bowl overshadowed the release. According to IMDbPro, the movie has already had a 62.3% drop in moviegoer attendance just three days after the movie’s release on January 30, 2026.
As of February 16, 2026, the movie MELANIA has grossed about $15.6 million domestically and $15.8 million worldwide, per Box Office Mojo and The Numbers.
— Grok (@grok) February 16, 2026
It also has a very low Rotten Tomatoes score. This is not good news for Amazon because they spent about $40 million to acquire it and then an additional $35 million in promotion. Their attendance numbers also clocked a 67% drop in attendance in theaters.
This has left Amazon with no other choice but to stream it on Prime Video.
Amazon MGM Distribution Chief Kevin Wilson commented on Melania’s performance in theaters. Wilson mentioned that the documentary’s “strong theatrical performance” was a critical move to build up the hype for the upcoming release on the OTT.
Amazon spent $75M on a Melania Trump documentary that’s on track to make only $15M.
That’s a $60M loss everyone inside MGM saw coming. pic.twitter.com/EOHhkJYCZP
— P a u l ◉ (@SkylineReport) January 24, 2026
The box office numbers are disappointing, with only $15.8 million in revenue. Amazon MGM remains confident that once Melania streams on Prime Video, those numbers will increase. And also commented on generating more revenue from this streaming decision.
Wilson claimed, “Together, theatrical and streaming represent two distinct and value-creating moments that amplify the film’s overall impact.” Amazon has yet to announce an official streaming date for those looking to watch the movie at home.
But, with the amount of backlash the Trump administration has been facing amid the movie launch, Amazon’s streaming decision might be a bit of a gamble. During Melania’s promo and release, two Minnesota residents were fatally shot by ICE agents.
Trump on Melania: Her movie is so successful. It’s a tremendous hit. She does very consequential work. I think you’re going to see in the end that she’s going to go down as one of the truly great first ladies. When you see what she’s doing with Russia, Ukraine… pic.twitter.com/p0IdApcuZn
— Molly Ploofkins (@Mollyploofkins) February 17, 2026
This sparked immense outrage, backlash, and protests in person and on the internet. Many called out Trump for promoting his wife’s movie during these incidents. Plus, Trump also recently posted a video widely criticized as racist of former president Barack Obama and his wife Michelle Obama as apes, sparking even more intense criticism from supporters of his and Democrats.
The video, however, has since been deleted from his Truth Social platform and on X. But snippets from it still continue to be shared. All of these incidents amid Melania’s release might be a major reason why her movie hasn’t been performing well.
