Overview
- Amazon MGM reported a $7 million domestic debut for the Melania Trump documentary, a strong result for nonfiction features after tepid advance sales tracking.
- Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert mocked the performance on their shows, pointing to reporting that blocs of tickets were purchased and handed out to inflate turnout.
- PostTrak data shows the opening audience skewed older, female and white, with strongest sales in Republican-leaning cities such as Dallas, Orlando, Tampa, Phoenix and West Palm Beach.
- Critics’ scores are overwhelmingly negative even as audience ratings on aggregator sites are unusually high, underscoring a sharp reception split.
- Amazon’s reported $40 million acquisition and roughly $35 million marketing spend cloud theatrical profitability, as Luminate recorded a roughly 13,000% U.S. viewing surge for Michelle Obama’s Becoming on Netflix the same weekend.