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Melania Trump has spent the last several days promoting her documentary, Melania, in unusual ways. She rang the bell at the New York Stock Exchange and hosted a private White House Screening. Everyone is talking about the film that Amazon MGM Studios reportedly purchased for $40 million. That doesn’t seem to be translating into ticket sales, though. Presale data suggests the flick, which follows Melania in the days leading up to President Donald Trump’s second term, should gross about $5 million during its opening weekend; an abysmal number. Experts, however, are skeptical that actual box-office numbers will be reported.

Experts aren’t certain that box office numbers for ‘Melania’ will be reported

Pre-sale data doesn’t suggest Melania will be a box-office hit. Only two opening-weekend shows appear to be sold out, and pre-sale data in big markets like New York suggest pretty abysmal turnout. According to Wired, only supporters in Independence, Missouri, and Vero Beach, Florida, have sold out screenings. Public reception has been even worse in the United Kingdom. According to The Mirror, just a handful of tickets were sold for afternoon screenings of the documentary.

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If the documentary does gross around $5 million during its opening weekend, the public may never know. An insider told The Mirror that they’d be shocked if the documentary’s box-office numbers were ever reported. While uncommon, it is not unheard of for ticket sales to be kept confidential. Sometimes, it is done to shield a poor performance. Other times, box office numbers aren’t reported because they don’t accurately reflect a title’s performance due to unconventional release practices, such as a hybrid release.

President Donald Trump comments on potentially subpar ticket sales

Even before numbers are reported (or not), President Donald Trump has been busy trying to downplay weak ticket sales. The divisive sitting president took to the stage at The Kennedy Center on January 29 to discuss the premiere. He told crowds that selling movie tickets “after COVID” is very difficult, and that he believes Melania will be a hit with streaming services. According to The Independent, the president claimed, “I think this will do unbelievable — streaming and everything. Theaters are a different world.”

While movie theaters have had a difficult time climbing back to their pre-pandemic ticket sale numbers, they have experienced uneven but commendable rebounds. According to several sources, movie theaters sold about 800 million tickets in 2024, down significantly from the 1.3 billion sold in 2019, the year before COVID-19 swept the world.  While not all movies are hits, plenty still draw a crowd. Melania just does not appear to be one of them, but it could still surprise audiences.

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