The curtain is about to rise on Melania Trump’s brand new documentary film, but reports claim there may be no audience in the seats to watch.
Forecasts revealed that the expensive documentary may be heading for a flop, while crew members are blowing the lid off the “chaotic” production.
“Unfortunately, if it does flop, I would really feel great about it,” a member of the documentary’s production team said.
Highlights
- A new documentary called 'Melania' will hit theaters on Friday, January 30.
- The film followed the Slovenian-born first lady for 20 days as she prepared to move back to the White House.
- Crew members spoke about how the production set was “chaotic” and “disorganized.”
- “Unfortunately, if it does flop, I would really feel great about it,” a member of the production team said.
The curtain is about to rise on Melania Trump’s brand new documentary film, but reports claim there may be no audience in the seats to watch
Image credits: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
The third wife of US President Donald Trump is the subject of the upcoming documentary Melania, which will open Friday, January 30, in an estimated 1,500 to 2,000 theaters across America.
The documentary followed Melania for 20 days, back when the Trumps moved back to the White House for a second term.
Viewers will see the 55-year-old first lady preparing for the presidential inauguration and moving “her family back to the nation’s capital,” according to promotional material for the documentary.
Image credits: IMDB
Despite great fanfare from Trump supporters over the release, pictures shared online show theaters seemingly struggling to sell tickets for Melania.
Late-night host Stephen Colbert shared pictures of multiple screenings with the “zero tickets sold” message during its opening weekend.
“The new Melania documentary hits theaters on Friday,” the comedian said. “ ... It looks fantastic. It’s a real peek behind the curtain at a woman picking out curtains.”
Forecasts claim the expensive documentary may have a flop opening weekend as it hits theaters on Friday, January 30
Image credits: Amazon MGM Studios
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Several social media users also shared screenshots of empty booking screens online.
“Not a single ticket sold for the opening night 9:55 p.m. showing of Melania at the busiest movie theater in the metro Jacksonville area,” read a tweet shared by Travis Akers, a former naval intelligence officer turned community activist.
Image credits: travisakers
“How many days until we learn that the RNC (Republican National Committee) bought movie tickets for the Melania movie just to fluff the numbers?” he added.
“Trump claims that Melania screenings are selling out fast,” author and documentary filmmaker Greg Mitchell wrote online. “At my large nearby multiplex, for four screenings on opening day Friday they have so far sold… 20 tickets.”
The documentary followed the first lady for 20 days as she prepared for Donald Trump’s return to the White House
Image credits: Amazon MGM Studios
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The rights to Melania were bought by Amazon MGM Studios for a staggering $40 million. An additional $35 million was spent by the Jeff Bezos-owned company on just promoting it.
However, forecasts claimed the film would have an unsuccessful release, with BoxOffice.com estimating that it would make just around $1 million in its opening weekend.
Meanwhile, the prediction from the National Research Group was around $5 million.
Image credits: Spencer Platt/Getty Images
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During the making of the documentary film, the first lady was reportedly deeply involved. She served as the executive producer and even had editorial control.
“She was involved in the production, the postproduction, all of the ad campaign, the trailer…” the president’s agent and senior advisor, Marc Beckman, was quoted as saying in an interview with One America News this week.
Sources spoke about Melania's involvement in the film and how much she reveals to viewers
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“When I say involved, I mean she’s not just approving. She built that trailer,” continued the senior advisor. “She created the cliffhanger, she selected the music. Same thing with the ad campaign that we’re seeing worldwide now in almost 30 countries.”
Ahead of the opening weekend, crew members have been sharing their experiences of being on the Melania set.
Image credits: nadja1412bsky
“People were worked really hard. Really long hours, highly disorganized, very chaotic,” one crew member told Rolling Stone.
Another said it “wasn’t easy money,” adding, “It was very difficult because of the chaos that was around everything. … Usually [for a documentary] it’s like, ‘Oh, follow the subject.’ Well, it’s Melania Trump. With the first lady and Secret Service, you can’t just do things you usually do.”
Crew members said they had to work long hours and described the set as “highly disorganized”
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A year after Donald Trump took office, one source claimed that two-thirds of the Melania crew members in New York asked for their names to be removed from the film’s credits.
Crew members also told viewers not to expect jaw-dropping revelations from the notoriously private, Slovenia-born first lady.
“Some people are boring,” one crew member said. “Some people also never let their guard down.”
Image credits: MELANIATRUMP
What makes the film even more controversial is Melania’s director Brett Ratner, best known for directing the Rush Hour series and X-Men: The Last Stand.
Melania is the first film he has made since six women publicly accused him of s**ual harassment and a**ault in 2017.
The director of Melania was previously accused of misconduct by several women in the past
Image credits: Amazon MGM Studios
Olivia Munn previously accused Brett Ratner of inappropriately touching his privates in front of her on set, back when she was an aspiring actress
Fellow actress Natasha Henstridge accused him of coercing her into performing oral s**.
“I’m going to see the movie so I can spend some time alone,” one netizen commented online
