We're less than 24 hours away from Melania Trump's documentary being released - but there's been some confusion about how many people are buying tickets.
US president Donald Trump, 79, is facing scrutiny for comments he made about his wife's new film, titled Melania, which will hit cinemas around the world tomorrow (30 January).
The movie, which was directed by Brett Ratner, is the result of camera following the First Lady, 55, for a total of 20 days during the run-up to her husband's 2025 inauguration back in January.
The film's synopsis reads: "With exclusive footage capturing critical meetings, private conversations, and never-before-seen environments, 'Melania' showcases Mrs. Trump’s return to one of the world’s most powerful roles."
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While Melania told Fox News: "For the first time, global audiences are invited into theatres to witness this pivotal chapter unfold. A private, unfiltered look as I navigate family, business, and philanthropy on my remarkable journey to becoming First Lady of the United States of America."
The documentary is set to open in at least 1,400 theatres across the United States and in more than 27 countries this weekend.
As we've gotten closer to the release date, Trump has been making sure to promote his wife's new documentary.
On Monday (January 26), he took to Truth Social to write: "MELANIA, the Movie, is a MUST WATCH. Get your tickets today. Selling out fast!"
And earlier this month, he gushed: "I’ve seen pieces of it. It’s incredible…. It’s going to be doing the premier at The Trump Kennedy Center. It’s a very hard ticket. Everybody, Wayne Gretzky and his wife, beautiful wife. Everybody wants tickets."
However, people immediately hit back with their 'evidence' to prove this isn't necessarily the case, including cinema booking pages apparently showing barely any seats reserved.
As per Forbes, the documentary reportedly cost Amazon MGM Studios $40 million for the rights and another $35 million on marketing and distribution.
But, the publication reports that the weekend projections so far just a small fraction of this figure.
Market research company National Research Group have projected a $5 million opening weekend, Puck reported.
Meanwhile, trade publication Boxoffice Pro projects an estimate even lower - between $1 million and $2 million.
Even Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago adjacent town of Palm Beach, Florida, the documentary film has sold just 13 percent of tickets, according to Newsweek.
As per the publication, at the time of writing, only 234 seats of the 1770 tickets available had been reserved.
Social media users have also pointed to reported weak ticket sales in major American cities, with one Bluesky post showing empty auditoriums at Boston’s largest AMC location, where AMC’s website indicated that only a single ticket had been sold across three Friday night showings at Boston Common.
And across the pond in the UK, ticket sales have also been dubbed as ‘soft’ by Tim Richards, the chief executive of cinema chain Vue.
As reported by The Guardian, just one seat has been booked for the first Friday afternoon screening (3.10pm) at its flagship Islington theatre in London, with only two tickets sold for the 6pm showing.
Tyla has contacted the White House for comment.
Topics: Melania Trump, Donald Trump, Politics, Celebrity, Entertainment, TV And Film, Documentaries, Money, Cinema
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Madison Burgess