‘Melania’ scores highest opening for non-music or concert doc at US box office in 10 years

Melania, the documentary about First Lady Melania Knauss, opened in third place at the North American box office on an estimated $7m through Amazon MGM Studios to deliver the highest debut by a non-music documentary or concert film in more than a decade.

The feature follows the former Slovenian model in the 20 days leading up to the second inauguration in 2025 of her husband and US president Donald Trump. It came in slightly below $8m forecasts and opened in 1,778 sites, earning $2.9m on Friday, $2.3m on Saturday, and $1.8m on Sunday.

Amazon MGM Studios reportedly paid $40m to acquire the film and an additional $35m to market it – a huge promotional budget typically way beyond the reach of most documentary distributors that included NFL play-off commercials and a takeover at Sphere in Las Vegas.

The film reportedly needs to gross in the region of $40m to break even (Amazon MGM Studios did not report international numbers) and if that seems unlikely, given that reports have said the film will stay exclusively in cinemas for two weekends, the theatrical release additionally serves as a promotional tool before the documentary debuts on Prime Video. Amazon MGM Studios’ licencing deal includes the film and an upcoming docuseries.

Head of domestic theatrical Kevin Wilson said, “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.”

Brett Ratner directed Melania, marking his return to the Hollywood fold since allegations of sexual impropriety by multiple women emerged in 2017, which he has denied. Over the weekend, newly-released Epstein files from the Department of Justice showed a photograph of the filmmaker cuddling a woman on a sofa next to the late disgraced former financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

While critics were not allowed to see Melania prior to release, it earned an A CinemaScore from audiences. Film critics were less enthused. Amazon MGM Studios said the audience was split 70%-50% female-male, with 72% aged 55 and over, while 75% of the crowd was while, 11% Hispanic, 2% African American, and 8% Native America.

Red and Blue political divide

EntTelligence reported on Sunday that approximately 600,000 people turned out to watch the documentary and there was a 53%-47% Red-Blue split by county affiliation.

While the highest-grossing US county where Melania screened was Republican-held Maricopa in Phoenix, Arizona – which the Republicans won back in the 2024 election after losing it in 2020 – the next four in the top five were the Democrat strongholds of Los Angeles and Orange County in the Los Angeles area; Harris in Houston, Texas; and Palm Beach in the West Palm Beach area in Florida, where Trump and Knauss live on the Mar-a-Lago estate. Trump came close to flipping West Palm Beach in the 2024 election.

Besides that, rural population centres with between 100,000 and 500,000 people accounted for the 39% lion’s share of ticket buyers.

‘Send Help’ opens top, YouTuber’s ‘Iron Lung’ places second

20th Century Studios/Disney’s Send Help starring Rachel McAdams and Dylan O’Brien opened at number one on an estimated $20m from 3,475 locations in a strong result for an original horror. Iron Lung, a microbudget sci-fi horror directed by YouTuber Mark Fischbach (aka Markiplier), arrived in second place in 3,015 sites and was distributed independently.

Disney’s Zootopia 2 ranked fourth in its tenth weekend on $5.8m from 2,880 sites for a $409m running total. Shelter, the Jason Statham action title that marked Black Bear’s second release since launching a US distribution arm last year, arrived in fifth place on $5.5m from 2,726 venues.

In sixth place and a hair’s breadth behind Shelter was Avatar: Fire And Ash, the third film in the top six distributed by Disney, which added $5.5m from 2,800 to stand at $386.1m after seven weekends. Mercy, the AI thriller starring Chris Pratt and Rebecca Ferguson that marked the first release in Amazon MGM Studios’ 2026 theatrical slate, added $4.7m from 3,468 for $19.4m to rank seventh.

Lionsgate’s global smash The Housemaid in eighth place added $3.5m from 2,603 for $120.7m in its seventh weekend, while A24’s Marty Supreme at number nine used a $2.9m haul from 1,703 to stand at $90.9m after seven sessions. Rounding out the top 10 was Sony’s 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple on 1.6m from 2,042 for a $23.7m cumulative tally after three.

Overall the weekend generated $82.2m, pushing year-to-date to $660.6m to lead the prior-year at the same stage by 12%.

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