Melania Trump's eponymous documentary flopped in its London debut.
UK cinema chain Vue's will premier "Melania" at 3:10 p.m. at its flagship Islington theater in London, but so far only one person has bought a ticket and just two tickets have sold for a 6 p.m. showing – undercutting President Donald Trump's hype claims, reported LBC.
"MELANIA, the Movie, is a MUST WATCH," Trump posted Tuesday on Truth Social. "Get your tickets today — Selling out, FAST!"
In truth, according to Vue chief executive Tim Richards, UK ticket sales are "soft," and the film – for which Amazon MGM Studios paid a reported $40 million – is projected to make just $5 million during its opening weekend, and trade publication Boxoffice Pro projects less than half that haul.
"I’d be amazed if box office gets reported on this title," one industry insider told The Mirror, adding that the film’s distributors might be paying a fee to cinemas to screen the movie, an established practice known as “four-walling.”
Documentary filmmaker Stefano Da Frè, who was not involved in the film, told CNN that "data-driven" Amazon would not have invested that much expecting to lose money.
“With all their tools, all their AI, Amazon Web Services — they didn’t just come up with that number randomly,” Da Frè said. “They believe, through their metrics, that it’s worth that amount.”
A studio spokesperson backed that assertion and disputed that Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos had sunk that much money on a "vanity project" for the president's wife.
“We licensed the film for one reason and one reason only — because we think customers are going to love it," the Amazon MGM Studios spokesperson said.
"Melania" will open in 1,400 theaters Friday in the U.S. and in more than 27 other countries, and Amazon spent a reported $35 million on marketing the documentary, and social media posts have suggested that many theaters will be empty as the film rolls.
