The wait is finally over to see if the first lady’s new documentary would be able to rely on her husband’s supporters to turn up at the box office to watch Melania as she tries to carve out her own career and identity.
They did, with the doc — directed by Brett Ratner in his first film since he was accused of multiple incidents of sexual misconduct — launched in third-place with an estimated $7 million from 1,778 theaters, the best showing in a decade for a non-fiction title. And while it didn’t meet Saturday’s projected total of $8 million, it’s ahead of the $5 million it was tracking to earn going into the weekend. Many in the media suggested Melania would be an all-out bomb with as little as $1 million. Exhibitors had also worried and had lowered their estimates to $2 million to $4 million based on sluggish ticket sales. But a grassroots campaign engineered by various conservative groups paid off, along with a pricey marketing campaign, at least for a doc.
Amazon MGM Studios paid $40 million for worldwide rights to release the documentary both in theaters and on its streaming service Prime Video, making Melania the most expensive doc in history in what many view as an attempt to curry favor with President Donald Trump. Amazon spent another $35 million on the global marketing campaign, with at least $20 million dedicated to the U.S.
Overall, Disney’s film empire continued to dominate the box office. 20th Century’s Rachel McAdams thriller Send Help, from director Sam Raimi, topped the chart with a better-than-expected $20 million and earned another $8.1 million overseas against a net budget of $40 million before marketing (it was tracking for a $14 million domestic debut). The darkly comic horror-thriller stars McAdams and Dylan O’Brien as coworkers stranded on a desert island. According to THR‘s review, the R-rated pic “boasts an audacious concept that is superbly realized by Raimi’s filmmaking, which milks every bizarre situation for all it’s worth.”
Disney’s year-end holiday releases Zootopia 2 and Avatar: Fire and Ash also stayed high up on the chart.
Melania’s performance wasn’t the only surprise of the weekend. In a second twist, indie pic Iron Lung from Mark Fischbach (aka Markiplier) of YouTube gaming fame nipped at Send Help‘s heels but ultimately placed second with nearly $17.9 million. The film, helmed by Fischbach in his directorial debut, is based on the submarine simulation horror game of the same name that was developed and published by David Szymanski, who helped with the film’s screenplay and makes a cameo.
Ironically, Disney was also among the bidders for Melania, offering a reported $14 million to $15 million for streaming and TV rights.
Melania placed No. 3 behind Send Help and Iron Lung after beating out the $5.5 million opening of Jason Statham‘s new action pic, Shelter, in yet another reminder of the buying power of females, who made up 72 percent of Melania‘s audience. And 78 percent of all ticket buyer were 55 and older.
The doc is galvanizing conservatives in the South and South-central part of the country. That’s good news for Amazon’s streaming service, Prime Video.
“We’re very encouraged by the strong start and positive audience response, with early box office for Melania exceeding our expectations. This momentum is an important first step in what we see as a long-tail lifecycle for both the film and the forthcoming docuseries, extending well beyond the theatrical window and into what we believe will be a significant run for both on our service. We are confident in the long-term value this rollout will deliver to customers both in theaters, and for years to come on Prime Video,” said chief of domestic distribution Kevin Wilson.
Sources say Melania will play exclusively in cinemas for at least 10 days; many films keep some sort of theatrical footprint once they go to streaming.
A domestic theatrical campaign for even the biggest docs generally runs no more than $5 million to $7 million. There are exceptions, including former vice president Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth and Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11. Sources say the domestic marketing spend was close to $15 million on each of those titles because of the awards factor, not adjusted for inflation.
Almost two decades later, Fahrenheit 9/11 remains the top-grossing doc of all time among any genre, and not just political, and still holds the record for top opening. Fahrenheit debuted to $23.9 million domestically from 868 theaters on its way to a North American cume of $119.2 million and $222 million globally, not adjusted for inflation.
Critics are trashing Melania the doc, as reflected by its current 6 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes. Many box office pundits say Trump supporters expected negative reviews from what they consider to the left-leaning media. Indeed, audiences gave Melania an A Cinemascore, while its audience score on Rotten Tomatoes is 98 percent, the highest of any film in the top 10 this weekend
The decision to open Melania in more than 20 markets overseas, where Prime Video has a huge footprint, was a bold move, considering how controversial of a figure her husband is. He’s presently in a tussle with South Africa, where a distributor pulled Melania from release earlier this week. And there’s been a torrent of bad press coming out of Europe regarding empty theaters (just as in the U.S.).
Amazon, which is using FilmNation to help overseas, had intended to report foreign grosses. So far, that information isn’t being provided (the first lady was insistent on a theatrical push around the globe).
All numbers could shift once final weekend numbers are tallied Monday.