Against a backdrop of heightened tensions in Minneapolis and the possibility of U.S. military action against Iran, senior figures in the Trump administration paused their official work on Thursday evening to attend a high-profile premiere in Washington for a documentary about first lady Melania Trump.
The film, titled "Melania," was financed by Amazon MGM Studios at a total cost of $75 million. That sum included $40 million paid to secure the license for the movie and a related docuseries, with the content slated for release later this year on the Amazon Prime Video streaming platform. The remaining $35 million represented the studio’s spending on promotion and distribution, and the movie will be available in about 25 territories outside North America, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Amazon’s chairman, Jeff Bezos, also contributed to President Donald Trump’s inaugural fund earlier this year. The first lady is listed as one of the producers of the documentary, which covers the 20 days prior to the 2025 inauguration and chronicles the family’s return to the White House.
Premiere and attendance
The Washington premiere took place at the Kennedy Center and drew a number of top Trump administration officials. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth were among those who walked a black carpet in front of a large backdrop emblazoned with the word "MELANIA" in black-and-white letters as photographers captured the arrivals.
A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said attendance by members of the cabinet was viewed as obligatory. At the event, Kennedy defended the first lady, saying she has been "largely been misunderstood. She’s a deep person. She’s deeply concerned about our country."
Studio and director responses
Amazon MGM Studios and the film’s director, Brett Ratner, publicly rejected suggestions that the studio purchased and heavily promoted the picture in order to curry favor with the administration. Ratner told reporters at the premiere, "It wasn’t about getting rich. I think the Trumps are wealthy and successful enough." Ratner’s directing credits include the "Rush Hour" film series with Jackie Chan.
Asked at the event whether the Amazon film deal was intended to win influence with him and the White House, the president replied that such claims were "fake news," adding, "I’m not involved, and it was done with my wife." An Amazon spokesperson said the company "licensed the film for one reason and one reason only - because we think customers are going to love it."
Marketing and distribution
The studio’s promotional push has been unusually large for a documentary. Promotional materials for the movie have appeared in prominent locations this week, including London’s Piccadilly Circus, and advertising has taken the form of television spots during NFL playoff games, billboards and a promotional video projected on the exterior of Las Vegas’s Sphere.
The film is scheduled to open in roughly 1,700 theaters across the United States and Canada on Friday, following the robust marketing campaign. Industry forecasters project that "Melania" could earn as much as $5 million during its opening weekend.
Kristy Guevara-Flanagan, head of documentary film at the University of California Los Angeles, commented on the scale of the promotion, calling it "an extremely high budget for promotion of a documentary" and adding, "It really feels like it’s so much in excess it’s like stuffing it down our throats."
Box office questions
Despite the marketing spend, uncertainty remains about the film’s commercial prospects. Daniel Loria, senior vice president of The Boxoffice Company, a data analytics firm for cinemas, noted the central question for the opening weekend is whether the public appeal that Donald Trump commands will extend to Melania Trump.
The documentary’s release plan includes availability on Amazon Prime Video later this year via the licensed agreement, and the promotional and distribution approach has placed the film in a theatrical-and-streaming pipeline that is atypical for documentary releases.
Context and reception
The film offers rare access to a first lady who, by many accounts, has maintained a low public profile during her husband’s second term. The trailer opens on Inauguration Day in January 2025, showing her wearing a navy wide-brimmed hat for the U.S. Capitol ceremony and portraying moments in which she counsels the president, including an instance in which she encourages him to emphasize being a "peacemaker and unifier" in his inaugural address.
Observers and participants at the premiere provided contrasting notes: studio and creative representatives stressed audience interest as the primary reason for the licensing decision and promotional investment, while at least one academic criticized the scale of the campaign as excessive for a documentary. Meanwhile, senior administration figures were present in force, and at least one anonymous official characterized cabinet attendance as expected.
The film’s combined production and promotion budget, the high-profile attendance at the premiere and the dual theatrical and streaming distribution strategy together underline how industry money and political visibility have intersected in the lead-up to the film’s release.
Additional reporting contributed from Los Angeles and other locations.