There is little interest in the new documentary about US first lady Melania Trump in Northern Ireland, with just two cinemas screening the movie and only a small number of seats pre-booked for its opening weekend.
Set to be a major global flop, the film by director Brett Ratner is marketed as “an intimate chronicle” that “offers a rare glimpse into the life of Melania Trump, exploring her role as First Lady and her relationship with the President”.
The film, which was released on Friday, follows her over the 20 days before Donald Trump’s second inauguration in January 2025.
It was purchased by Amazon/MGM Studios following a bid for $40 million. The studio owned by Amazon boss Jeff Bezos has spent a further $35m to market it.
Ms Trump is believed to have earned $28m from the deal, and had significant editorial control through her role as an executive producer on the film.
Amazon have said of their decision: “We licensed the film for one reason and one reason only – because we think customers are going to love it.”
However, the film was only expected to sell around $5m in US ticket sales this weekend, and is releasing in just 1,600 cinemas outside of the country.
Out of the north’s 30 or so cinemas that screen new releases, just two are showing Melania and both are in Belfast – the Odeon in Victoria Square and Cineworld in the SSE Arena.
As of Friday afternoon, just a handful of seats were unavailable for bookings for the two daily Odeon screenings throughout the weekend.
Cineworld had a slightly better 16 seats booked for Friday evening’s showing, five for Saturday’s single screening, and one for Sunday.
Reviews for the film, which President Trump said his wife had “done a great job”, are also expected to be dire in the days ahead.
The boss of the Movie House cinema chain – which was not offered the film to screen – told the Irish News the documentary would face issues even if it had a wide release.
“It’s unfortunate timing for Mrs Trump, that her film has come out at such a delicate time,” he said, referring to the issues facing the U.S President both at home and abroad.
“That’s not going to help its box office. But in localised places where Mr Trump is liked, it might actually do very well.”
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