Box Office Woes for Amazon's Melania Documentary
Following a surprisingly strong opening weekend, Amazon's documentary focused on former First Lady Melania Trump experienced a significant 67% decline in its second weekend, bringing in an estimated $2.37 million. The film has garnered a total of $13.5 million to date, with the vast majority of that sum originating from the United States. Given Amazon's substantial investment of $40 million for acquisition and an additional $35 million for marketing, the film faces an uphill battle to recoup its costs through theatrical releases.
Prior to the documentary's debut, industry speculation questioned the motivations behind the high acquisition price. One former Amazon film executive even suggested it could be an attempt to curry favor with the Trump administration or potentially an "outright bribe."
While theatrical performance typically dips during Super Bowl weekend, the impact on "Melania" appears more pronounced. The weekend's top-grossing film, "Send Help," saw a more modest decline of 47%. "Melania," which debuted in third place last weekend, has now fallen to ninth position in the box office rankings.
In an apparent effort to address the film's performance, Kevin Wilson, head of domestic theatrical distribution for Amazon, released a statement emphasizing the complementary nature of theatrical and streaming releases. "Together, theatrical and streaming represent two distinct value creating moments that amplify the film’s overall impact," Wilson stated.
Despite receiving overwhelmingly negative reviews from film critics, "Melania" boasts a remarkable 99% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. The exceptional audience reception prompted Rotten Tomatoes to issue its own statement confirming the legitimacy of the score.
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