When a movie studio heavily restricts early reviews or prevents media previews, it’s often because they anticipate negative feedback and want to avoid a wave of bad publicity. However, a new documentary about the First Lady has taken this approach and still achieved remarkably positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, setting a new record in the process.
The documentary about Melania Trump’s activities before Donald Trump’s second inauguration, directed by Brett Ratner, faced immediate criticism. Already accused of being biased and exploitative, the film drew further outrage when its $40 million cost and Melania Trump’s $28 million personal profit were revealed. Unsurprisingly, most media outlets and individuals not closely aligned with Donald Trump reacted negatively.
After being excluded from the initial premiere, critics finally saw the film Melania and overwhelmingly disliked it. It received a dismal 7% score on Rotten Tomatoes, with reviewers calling it “shallow,” “dull,” and “simply terrible.” There was very little positive feedback, and one critic even described it as a “two-hour bland infomercial for the future death of democracy.” By Saturday, the score had only slightly improved to 11%.
Audiences Have Scored ‘Melania’ as One of the Best Movies of the Year
Why is this movie so popular with audiences, earning a 99% score on Rotten Tomatoes? Some might suspect fake reviews, but the reason is likely more straightforward. Before the movie came out, reports showed very few people were buying tickets to screenings in states that don’t typically support Trump. However, screenings in and around Trump’s home state and other heavily pro-Trump areas were completely sold out.
Most people who paid to see the movie in theaters went because of the Trump name, and like devoted fans, they were predisposed to believe it was excellent – and that’s exactly what they’ve said.
Despite receiving extremely negative reviews from critics (currently 11% on Rotten Tomatoes, originally 7%), the movie has been a hit with general audiences, who give it a 99% rating. Though praised as “the #1 documentary of the last decade” by the First Lady, it has been a box office failure. Interestingly, it holds the record for the biggest difference between critic and audience scores on Rotten Tomatoes, a distinction it’s likely to keep for a long time.
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The movie is expected to earn $8 million during its opening weekend, exceeding the initial $5 million prediction. However, when including substantial marketing expenses, the total cost of the film was $75 million, meaning it still has a long way to go to become profitable. With a TV show planned and a future move to Prime Video, the story of Melania isn’t over, and we can anticipate continued promotion of the film’s success by its subject and her husband.
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2026-02-01 18:32