Melania Trump’s Amazon documentary has sparked the largest critic-audience divide in Rotten Tomatoes history, with sharply polarized reviews
Maria LetÃcia Gomes GAU Writer
09:00 ET, 18 Feb 2026Updated 10:12 ET, 18 Feb 2026
Melania’s documentary tanks critics’ reviews but gets 98% audience score
Melania Trump’s high-profile Amazon MGM Studios documentary has created a stark rift between professional reviewers and general audiences on film rating websites, earning an 11% approval from critics compared to a 98% score from everyday viewers.
Despite the dramatic gap between professional and public opinion, Rotten Tomatoes has maintained the ratings are legitimate. In a public statement, the film review aggregation platform declared: “There has been NO manipulation on the audience reviews for the Melania documentary,”.
Helmed by Brett Ratner, Melania chronicles its namesake subject, the First Lady of the United States, over a 20-day period as she readies herself for her husband Donald Trump’s inauguration.
Throughout this timeframe, she coordinates events, oversees the presidential transition back to the White House, and fulfills family obligations, with Amazon promising “unprecedented access” into the family’s private world across 105 minutes.
It’s fair to say critics aren’t in favor of the movie(Image: STAN GILLILAND/EPA/Shutterstock)
However, despite the substantial $40 million budget, Melania faced harsh criticism from reviewers who found it lacking in substance, reports the Mirror US.
On Rotten Tomatoes, the documentary’s 11% rating includes assessments like Only Critics’, which states: “Even the most devoted fans are unlikely to discover anything here that could not be gleaned from a quick Wikipedia search.”
Some critics were more scathing, including the Detroit News – “Its defining trait is that it’s numbingly, agonizingly dull” – and Kermode and Mayo’s Take – “It is the most depressing experience I have ever had in the cinema.”
The New Republic declared “It’s not just that this is some self-serving spectacle. It’s that it’s a bad, totally un-entertaining self-serving spectacle” whilst the Daily Telegraph offered a stark description of the viewing experience: “The whole vibe is eerily off from start to finish, leaving you feeling as if you’ve spent 105 minutes alone on a merry-go-round in an abandoned amusement park.”
Melania was released in over 20 countries(Image: AP)
Everyday viewers, on the other hand, flooded the platform with reviews that sharply diverged from the professional critics’ assessment.
“What a great film! Very well made movie. The music was energetic too. Beautiful scenes and very positive feeling overall. Loved it!” one audience member shared.
Another enthusiastic review said: “Great movie! class act she is 100%! done very well! highly recommended! good to see some class still exists and TRUMP is best potus ever on top of her classiest flotus EVER!”.
Trump supporters also weighed in with explanations for the harsh professional reviews, with one commenting: “This documentary is the only way she could really share her story since the mainstream media chooses to either ignore her accomplishments or paint her in a negative light. I am proud that she is our First Lady and truly appreciate who she is and what she has contributed to America.
But fans seem to love the picture(Image: Taylor Hill, WireImagevia Getty Images)
“Melania is an amazing individual and is part of an incredible family. So proud (and relieved) to have President Trump restoring law and order to our county and to have her by his side,” another admirer expressed. Following its debut, Melania demonstrated strong initial box office numbers before seeing a dramatic decline.
The film pulled in $7.2 million across the US during its opening weekend, prompting Amazon to broaden its theatrical release by approximately 500 screens. However, by Sunday, its chart position had tumbled from number 3 to number 10.
Reports from The Guardian indicate the movie plummeted even further during its second week, dropping 67%. In the UK, the decline was even steeper at 88%, sliding to number 62 in box office rankings.
Amazon reportedly invested $40 million to acquire the project following a competitive bidding war. The streaming giant also allocated roughly $35 million toward marketing efforts, releasing the film across 26 countries.
Prior to its official premiere, a dinner screening event took place at the White House, featuring distinguished attendees including Queen Rania of Jordan, Apple’s Tim Cook, and boxing champion Mike Tyson.