Michelle Obama's Documentary Experiences Massive Viewership Surge Following Melania Trump Film Release
The debut of First Lady Melania Trump's new documentary in theaters appears to have triggered a remarkable resurgence in popularity for her predecessor Michelle Obama's 2020 Netflix film, Becoming. According to comprehensive data from entertainment analytics provider Luminate, the former first lady's documentary experienced an extraordinary 13,000 percent increase in viewership among American Netflix subscribers during the same weekend that Melania premiered in cinemas nationwide.
Staggering Streaming Statistics Revealed
Detailed metrics show that Becoming accumulated more than 47.5 million minutes of viewing time during Melania Trump's opening weekend, representing a dramatic escalation from the mere 354,000 minutes recorded during the previous weekend. When calculated based on the film's total runtime, this translates to approximately 480,000 individual streams of Michelle Obama's documentary, demonstrating substantial renewed interest in the project that originally accompanied her bestselling memoir of the same title.
Contrasting Critical Reception and Box Office Performance
While Melania faced overwhelmingly negative reviews from critics across the board, the documentary about the current first lady achieved the most significant opening weekend for any non-fiction feature film in the past decade, generating approximately $7 million in domestic ticket sales. Despite this stronger-than-anticipated theatrical performance, industry analysts suggest the film remains unlikely to recover the substantial $40 million acquisition cost paid by Amazon MGM, with the studio reportedly investing an additional $35 million in marketing and promotional activities.
Content and Production Backgrounds
Becoming provides audiences with intimate behind-the-scenes access to Michelle Obama's nationwide book tour, offering personal glimpses into her family history, childhood home in Chicago, relationship with her late father, and courtship with former President Barack Obama. In contrast, Melania documents the twenty days preceding President Donald Trump's second inauguration in January 2025, featuring the first lady consulting with stylists, interior designers, and political allies before appearing hand-in-hand with her husband during the swearing-in ceremony.
Controversial Director and Production Challenges
The Melania Trump documentary marks the return to filmmaking for director Brett Ratner, best known for the Rush Hour franchise, who relocated to Israel following multiple allegations of sexual misconduct in 2017. Ratner has consistently denied any wrongdoing and faces no criminal charges. According to a Rolling Stone investigation, approximately two-thirds of the film's crew members requested their names be removed from the production credits, highlighting significant behind-the-scenes tensions.
Critical Analysis and Presidential Commentary
In a scathing one-star review for The Independent, critic Nick Hilton described Melania as "somewhere between reality television and pure fiction," questioning its documentary authenticity while noting the film's deliberately composed visual style reminiscent of Ratner's work on major Hollywood productions. During the film's premiere event at the Kennedy Center on January 29th, President Donald Trump addressed concerns about ticket sales, emphasizing the challenging post-pandemic theatrical landscape while expressing confidence in the project's future streaming performance on Prime Video.
