Amazon’s $75M Gilded Flop: ‘Melania’ Faces Empty Theaters and ‘Ghost Ticket’ Allegations

When Amazon MGM Studios dropped $40 million to acquire the rights to the Brett Ratner-directed documentary Melania, the industry gasped. When they added another $35 million for a marketing blitz—including takeover ads on the Las Vegas Sphere and NFL playoff spots—critics called it the most expensive “favor” in Hollywood history.

Now that the numbers for the January 30, 2026 opening are trickling in, those critics are feeling vindicated.

The “Empty Seat” Phenomenon

Despite President Trump’s claims on Truth Social that theaters are “selling out fast,” data from the ground tells a different story.

• The $3M to $8M Discrepancy: Initial industry projections had the film tracking for a meager $3 million opening weekend across 1,500 theaters. However, recent “actual” sales data suggests it might hit $8 million.
• Alleged “Goosing”: Box office analysts and social media users are reporting a strange pattern: theaters that show as “sold out” on apps like AMC or Fandango are reportedly nearly empty when journalists and fans actually walk into the auditorium. This has led to accusations of “ghost ticket” buying—a strategy where outside groups or the campaign itself buy blocks of tickets to artificially inflate numbers.
• The “Sound of Freedom” Playbook: Skeptics are comparing this to the 2023 hit Sound of Freedom, suggesting that conservative groups and churches may be bulk-purchasing tickets, even if no one is sitting in the seats.

A Critical Disaster

The film itself is being savaged by critics who were forced to pay for their own tickets (as Amazon famously withheld the film from the press).

• The “Zone of Interest” Comparison: The Guardian called the film a “gilded trash remake of The Zone of Interest,” describing it as a chilling, airless look at a First Lady who spends 30% of the runtime in high-stakes dress fittings while the world burns outside.
• The Ratner Return: This marks the first film in nearly a decade for disgraced director Brett Ratner. Reports from Rolling Stone suggest the production was “toxic,” with two-thirds of the crew asking for their names to be removed from the credits, calling the experience “slimy” and the final product “boring.”

The “Why” Behind the Buy

With a total investment of $75 million, Melania would need to gross nearly $180 million globally just to break even—a feat virtually impossible for a documentary.

• The Mar-a-Lago Deal: Insiders point back to a late 2024 dinner between Jeff Bezos and the Trumps at Mar-a-Lago.
• Regulatory Speculation: Many in the “Fourth Estate” are questioning if the $40 million license fee (of which Melania reportedly pocketed $28 million directly) was less about entertainment and more about Amazon securing a “favorable climate” for its government contracts and avoiding antitrust scrutiny.

Weekend Box Office Snapshot (Jan 30 – Feb 1, 2026)

Source: THR