Jimmy Kimmel has cast doubt on the box office performance of the new documentary about First Lady Melania Trump, suggesting the figures may have been artificially inflated. The film, directed by Brett Ratner, reportedly grossed $7 million in its opening weekend, a figure that surprised many given early reports of low ticket sales.
During his show on Wednesday, Kimmel highlighted the disparity between the film's critical reception and its audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. The documentary holds a 5% critic score, lower than the infamous flop Gigli, yet boasts a 99% audience score, higher than The Godfather. Kimmel joked that President Donald Trump might have had a hand in the latter.
Quoting a Daily Beast article, Kimmel alleged that blocks of tickets were purchased and distributed to Republican activists and senior citizens' homes. He quipped, “Imagine those poor senior citizens. ‘Good morning, Mrs. Greenwald. Here are your heart pills and here are your liver pills. And here’s a pair of tickets to Melania.’”
Despite its opening weekend performance, the film is unlikely to recoup the $40 million Amazon MGM paid for it, plus an additional $35 million in marketing costs. The Independent's one-star review described the First Lady as “a preening, scowling void of pure nothingness” in what it called “ghastly propaganda.”
President Trump downplayed concerns about weak ticket sales at the film's premiere, attributing the challenges to the post-Covid cinema landscape. The Independent has contacted the First Lady's office for comment.
