- - "Here We Go Again": Everything You About Melania Trump's New Documentary

Diana Valenzuela January 30, 2026 at 4:37 AM

0

"Here We Go Again": Everything You About Melania Trump's New Documentary

First ladies are no strangers to self-promotion. From memoirs to podcasts, the wives of current and former U.S. presidents often share personal stories about their unique experiences in the East Wing. And Melania Trump, who published an autobiography during the time between her husband's first and second presidencies, is once again offering the public a glimpse into her life.

The upcoming documentary film, Melania, follows the first lady during the 20 days leading up to President Trump's second inauguration. It premiered at an opulent reception at the Trump Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and is slated to hit 1,500 U.S. theaters. But according to early reports, while the film cost an estimated $75 million to make and market, it's on track to earn…significantly less at the box office. We've got details on the financials, plus, why some of the crew asked for their names to be removed from the credits.

Who produced and directed the Melania movie?

Industry veteran Brett Ratner directed Melania. Known for blockbuster films like 1998's Rush Hour, Ratner was seemingly ostracized from Hollywood in 2017, when several women accused him of sexual assault. Melania is the first film Ratner has directed since 2014's Hercules.

The first lady is an executive producer of Melania.

Why is Melania controversial?

Two-thirds of the New York film crew who worked on Melania have apparently requested that their names be removed from the film's credits, citing shame over their involvement.

The working conditions on set were also reportedly difficult. “People were worked really hard. Really long hours, highly disorganized, very chaotic,” one crew member told Rolling Stone. The chaos was reportedly stoked in part by Ratner. "Brett Ratner was the worst part of working on this project,” said another source.

Crew members informed the publication that Ratner littered the set with trash. The director allegedly also ate food in front of hungry crew members, who had been denied meal breaks.

How much did Melania cost to make?

Amazon MGM Studios acquired the film for $40 million, and the company has reportedly spent $35 million to market it. But according to CNN data analyst Harry Enten, the film has been projected to earn as little as $1 million during its opening weekend. Some critics seem mystified as to whether the initial spend was a wise move on Amazon MGM's part.

"It's just hard to imagine why this number is justified for Melania," Jason Spingarn-Koff, a professor of journalism at UC Berkeley and former Netflix executive, told NPR.

What has been the public response to Melania?

In L.A., buses bearing Melania ads were pulled due to vandalism, which included spray-painted expletives and references to the Epstein files. And online, in advance of the release, users of the social media film-review platform Letterboxd have been inundating the site with poor reviews of the film .

A spokesperson for Amazon MGM Studios, told Rolling Stone that they aren't concerned by the early backlash. “We licensed the film for one reason and one reason only — because we think customers are going to love it.”

The post "Here We Go Again": Everything You About Melania Trump's New Documentary appeared first on Katie Couric Media.

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Entertainment”