'Melania' rakes in $7 million, making it one of the highest-grossing documentaries of the last few years
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- "Melania: Twenty Days to History" debuted in theaters on January 30.
- The doc follows Melania Trump, the US first lady, ahead of Trump's inauguration.
- As of Sunday, the doc has grossed over $7 million in ticket sales.
A glimpse into Melania Trump's often-obscured personal life has drawn at least some fans to the box office, earning over $7 million during the opening weekend.
Data from The Numbers, a movie financial analysis website, shows that "Melania: Twenty Days to History" is far and away the highest-grossing documentary of 2026 so far.
By comparison, "Holding Liat," a documentary released in January, is the second highest earner at $28,000 as of Sunday, according to The Numbers.
One of the highest-grossing documentaries of 2025 was "Becoming Led Zeppelin," which earned about $10.4 million at the domestic box office.
"It proves that an original idea which is executed with deliberate beauty is embraced by fans and moviegoers, regardless of political affiliation," Marc Beckman, Melania's senior advisor and agent, told Business Insider in a statement.
The documentary, which premiered on January 30, offers a behind-the-scenes look at the days leading up to President Donald Trump's 2025 inauguration from the first lady's perspective. Amazon MGM Studios paid $40 million to license the documentary and an additional docuseries on Prime Video. Brett Ratner, known for the "Rush Hour" franchise before sexual misconduct allegations derailed his career in 2017, directed the documentary.
"With exclusive footage of critical meetings, private conversations, and never-before-seen environments, 'Melania' showcases Mrs. Trump's return to one of the world's most powerful roles," an Amazon press release said.
Despite the early box-office sales, the film has earned less-than-stellar reviews from critics and was review-bombed on Letterboxd. Business Insider's Peter Kafka described the documentary as "dull," but said that it could resonate with superfans of the Trump family.
"The best way I can describe this one is something akin to a wedding video: Maybe the subjects of the video will want to watch it (Melania looks, unsurprisingly, like a woman who used to be a model; her husband seems notably more spry than he does now, a year after it was filmed)," Kafka wrote. "It's hard to imagine anyone else will."