{"id":439702,"date":"2026-01-30T22:46:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-30T22:46:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/439702\/"},"modified":"2026-01-30T22:46:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-30T22:46:10","slug":"amazon-rolls-out-red-carpet-for-melania-but-will-anyone-see-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/439702\/","title":{"rendered":"Amazon Rolls Out Red Carpet For &#8216;Melania&#8217; But Will Anyone See It?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto     \">\n\tWhat\u2019s the conservative equivalent of \u201cGo woke, go broke\u201d? \u2018Go Trump, go turkey\u2019?<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto     \">\n\tThat seems to be the message coming out of international when it comes to the <a href=\"https:\/\/deadline.com\/tag\/melania\/\" id=\"auto-tag_melania\" data-tag=\"melania\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Melania<\/a> documentary that <a href=\"https:\/\/deadline.com\/tag\/amazon-mgm-studios\/\" id=\"auto-tag_amazon-mgm-studios\" data-tag=\"amazon-mgm-studios\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Amazon MGM Studios<\/a> reportedly spent an eye-watering and record $40 million to license and $35M to market.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto     \">\n\tMultiple international distribution and exhibition sources we\u2019ve spoken with have told us that presales for the film look \u201csoft\u201d in their territories. That was also the word from Vue CEO Tim Richards earlier this week when he spoke to The Telegraph.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto     \">\n\tIn the U.S., <a data-id=\"1236700234\" data-type=\"post\" href=\"https:\/\/deadline.com\/2026\/01\/send-help-iron-lung-melania-box-office-preview-1236700234\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">the film is tracking<\/a> for an opening between $1M-5M from 1,500 screens. A glimpse into the UK market is even less forgiving. We\u2019re told the film is booked in 160 total UK &amp; Irish sites for the coming week, a large number for a documentary. UK insiders told us Thursday that the film had presold around 2,400 tickets ahead of launch, but across a whopping 2,200+ screenings. That equates to only 1.1 tickets per screening.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto     \">\n\tSo far, it has taken less than 0.75% of available UK seats this weekend, meaning it is on course to perform around the same as the rerelease of 2012 animated film Room on the Broom, which is a regular at UK cinema clubs aimed at toddlers. Shear Entertainment is handling the UK bookings but declined comment.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto     \">\n\tFrom Australia came a report that only one ticket had been presold this week across Hoyts\u2019 12 cinemas. In South Africa, the film was removed from circulation altogether, seemingly on political grounds. Meanwhile, social media users overseas have been replicating the U.S. trend of posting images of empty movie theaters. The below comes from Germany.<\/p>\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Surprised MELANIA is playing here in Germany.  Smallest theater at the multiplex and only 1 showing at per day at 11am. So far, 3 tickets sold-0 for Friday, 1 for Saturday and 2 on Sunday. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/LrvIvt0dYJ\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">pic.twitter.com\/LrvIvt0dYJ<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 HeadOnFire (@HeadOnFire3) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/HeadOnFire3\/status\/2016532817065230609?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">January 28, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto     \">\n\tI had a look at my local Vue cinema in London on Saturday night. West London cinemagoers seemingly didn\u2019t get Trump\u2019s memo that tickets are selling fast.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"c-lazy-image__img lrv-u-background-color-grey-lightest lrv-u-width-100p lrv-u-display-block lrv-u-height-auto\" src=\"https:\/\/deadline.com\/wp-content\/themes\/pmc-deadline-2019\/assets\/public\/lazyload-fallback.jpg\" data-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Vue-Shepherds-Bush-Melania.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-lazy- data-lazy- height=\"768\" width=\"1024\" decoding=\"async\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto     \">\n\tDespite all indicators pointing to apathy, Amazon hasn\u2019t held back. The streamer is marketing the film via massive billboards and LED screens in a host of international cities including Mexico City, Tokyo, London and Madrid. We\u2019ve also seen big outdoor marketing in Italy and the Middle East. FilmNation has handled international sales for the streamer, tapping into its local theatrical contacts in around 20 markets. The company declined comment for this piece.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto     \">\n\tMelania advertising in London:<\/p>\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Some of that reported $30+ million for publicity for the Melania film in bright lights and big screen of London\u2019s Piccadilly Circus <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/K12elGK98P\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">pic.twitter.com\/K12elGK98P<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Victoria Uwonkunda (@Afroscandi) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Afroscandi\/status\/2016519252073722285?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">January 28, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto     \">\n\tMelania billboard in Italy:<\/p>\n<p lang=\"it\" dir=\"ltr\">Si prevede che <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Melania?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">#Melania<\/a>, documentario su Melania Trump diretto da Brett Ratner, sar\u00e0 un clamoroso disastro.<\/p>\n<p>Il doc, pagato 40 milioni di dollari da Prime Video ai quali aggiungere 35 milioni di marketing, potrebbe NON andare oltre i 3\/5 milioni d\u2019incasso al debutto USA\ud83d\ude02 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/VinMagqQmv\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">pic.twitter.com\/VinMagqQmv<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 ApocaFede (@DrApocalypse) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DrApocalypse\/status\/2016606559271260396?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">January 28, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto     \">\n\tMelania billboard in Madrid:<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto     \">\n\tMelania billboard in Dubai:<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"c-lazy-image__img lrv-u-background-color-grey-lightest lrv-u-width-100p lrv-u-display-block lrv-u-height-auto\" src=\"https:\/\/deadline.com\/wp-content\/themes\/pmc-deadline-2019\/assets\/public\/lazyload-fallback.jpg\" data-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Melania-Dubai.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-lazy- data-lazy- height=\"576\" width=\"1024\" decoding=\"async\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto     \">\n\tWhy has this amount of money been spent by Amazon? Former Amazon exec Ted Hope had a theory shared by many when he told the New York Times this week: \u201cHow can it not be equated with currying favor or an outright bribe? How can that not be the case?\u201d We know from sources that powerful studio owners have in the past leaned on their film departments to promote certain movies. But this is seemingly on another level.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto     \">\n\tHuge money has been thrown at the film, but there\u2019s been little transparency. There were no preview screenings for critics and press weren\u2019t even allowed into the film\u2019s U.S. premiere Thursday night at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., where Republican politicians were trotted out on the red carpet, shifting the event\u2019s focus from art to politics. Meanwhile, we hear Amazon is unlikely to report international box office numbers for the film. Amazon declined  comment for this piece.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto     \">\n\tFilm companies are normally only too happy to speak with journalists ahead of a film\u2019s release. The opposite has been true for Melania. International theatrical partners we\u2019ve reached out to have been sheepish about their involvement. Admittedly, Melania isn\u2019t their film to discuss, but it\u2019s clear the movie is seen as toxic PR for those involved. Not only is it made by a filmmaking pariah, Brett Ratner, who was accused by multiple women of sexual assault \u2014 allegations he denies \u2014 but it comes at a time when Americans are being killed by the government\u2019s immigration agency, ICE, and Amazon is slashing thousands of in-house jobs while taking an ax to the Washington Post.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto     \">\n\tVue\u2019s Richards, one of the few international exhibitors to go on record about the film, told the Telegraph he had received a considerable number of emails from the public criticizing Vue\u2019s decision to screen the film. \u201cI have told everyone that, regardless of how we feel about the movie, if it is BBFC [British Board of Film Classification] approved we look at them and 99% of the time we will show it,\u201d he said. \u201cWe do not play judge and jury to censor movies.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"What\u2019s the conservative equivalent of \u201cGo woke, go broke\u201d? \u2018Go Trump, go turkey\u2019? That seems to be the&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":439703,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[52],"tags":[12779,88,163617,206],"class_list":{"0":"post-439702","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-movies","8":"tag-amazon-mgm-studios","9":"tag-entertainment","10":"tag-melania","11":"tag-movies"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/439702","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=439702"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/439702\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/439703"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=439702"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=439702"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=439702"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}