Melania Trump’s Documentary Hits Theaters Amid Controversy

Melania Trump's self-titled documentary premiered at the Kennedy Center on Thursday night and is now in theaters across the country. The film, funded by a $40 million licensing deal with Amazon, offers an inside look at the First Lady's preparation for her husband's second term as president and her transition back to the White House.

The documentary follows Melania Trump through the 20 days leading up to the January 2025 presidential inauguration. It captures her orchestrating inauguration plans, managing the complexities of the White House transition, and relocating her family back to Washington.

"I want to show the audience my life, what it takes to be a first lady again and the transition from private citizen back to the White House," Melania Trump told reporters ahead of the premiere.

The film runs one hour and 44 minutes and was directed by Brett Ratner. It represents an unusual business arrangement in American politics, with the First Lady serving as an executive producer on the project.

Background

Melania Trump stepped away from public life after leaving the White House in 2021 following her husband's first term. She maintained a largely private profile for four years, focusing on her business interests and family. The documentary marks her most prominent public appearance since that departure, coinciding with her return to the role of First Lady following Donald Trump's 2024 election victory.

The project was announced with considerable fanfare, with Amazon MGM Studios securing the rights ahead of other major entertainment companies. Disney reportedly bid $14 million for the film, making Amazon's offer significantly larger. Beyond the licensing fee, Amazon has invested an additional $35 million in a marketing campaign that includes television commercials, billboards, and simultaneous theatrical screenings in 25 locations.

Key Details

The Financial Deal

The financial arrangement surrounding the documentary has drawn significant attention. Of Amazon's $40 million licensing fee, Melania Trump will receive 70 percent as executive producer. The remaining funds go to production costs and other parties involved in the film.

Ted Hope, a former Amazon film executive, questioned the arrangement publicly. He suggested the deal raised concerns about whether it represented an attempt to curry favor with the Trump administration or amounted to something more problematic.

The White House has stated that President Trump makes no money from his position and is already wealthy. On his Truth Social account, Trump posted that the documentary is "A MUST WATCH."

Public Reception and Controversy

The film has generated mixed reactions since its announcement. Social media users have posted screenshots showing empty theater seats for some screenings, suggesting limited public demand in certain markets.

In South Africa, major cinema chains pulled the documentary from their schedules. The distributor cited "the current climate" without providing further explanation. The decision came amid strained relations between South Africa's government and Trump's administration, which has made repeated claims about a "white genocide" targeting the Afrikaans community—accusations that fact-checkers have found to be false.

The choice of director has also sparked controversy. Brett Ratner has not directed a major film project since 2017, when multiple women accused him of sexual misconduct. Ratner has denied these allegations.

Content and Themes

Melania Trump described the documentary as "beautiful, it's emotional, it's fashionable, it's cinematic." The film includes exclusive footage of critical meetings, private conversations, and never-before-seen environments within the White House and during inauguration preparations.

A teaser released in December showed Melania Trump looking directly at the camera just before her husband's second swearing-in ceremony at the Capitol, saying "Here we go again." In promotional interviews this week, she emphasized themes of unity, particularly following a shooting incident in Minneapolis that sparked national outrage.

The Trumps held a private White House screening on Saturday, hours after immigration agents shot and killed protester Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.

What This Means

The documentary represents a significant moment in how political figures monetize their public roles. The scale of the financial deal—$40 million for the film itself, plus $35 million in marketing—sets a new benchmark for political documentaries in the streaming era.

The project also illustrates broader trends in how major corporations have positioned themselves toward the Trump administration. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos secured a prominent seat at the inauguration and has directed his Washington Post newspaper toward more pro-business editorials. The documentary deal fits within this pattern of business titans seeking to align themselves with the administration.

The film's performance at the box office and on Amazon's streaming platform will likely influence whether similar projects emerge in the coming years. It will also test whether audiences have appetite for intimate political documentaries or whether the arrangement strikes viewers as an inappropriate blending of commerce and political power.