Amazon's authorised documentary about Melania Trump has got off to a weak start in UK cinemas, with just one ticket sold for the premiere screening at Vue's flagship Islington branch in London. Only two tickets had been booked for the 6pm showing, while all seats remained available for the 28 screenings at Vue's Blackburn, Castleford and Hamilton branches at the time of publication.
Vue chief executive Tim Richards described the ticket sales as 'soft', adding that he had received a considerable number of emails from the public criticising the decision to screen the film. 'I have told everyone that, regardless of how we feel about the movie, if it is BBFC approved we look at them and 99% of the time we will show it,' he said. 'We do not play judge and jury to censor movies.'
Amazon MGM Studios bought the rights to the film for $40m (£30m) and is spending $35m on a global marketing push, though this has so far been mostly in the US. The film documents the 20 days preceding Donald Trump's return to power in January 2025 and was screened at the White House on Saturday.
One industry analyst suggested the underlying strategy may be 'four-walling', whereby distributors pay a set fee to each cinema to play a title. This would explain why so many exhibitors have agreed to take on a movie with such modest financial prospects. The analyst added: 'I'd be amazed if box office gets reported on this title.'
UK projections are difficult to gauge, but the sluggish advance sales suggest a poor performance. By comparison, the documentary 'Prime Minister' about Jacinda Ardern took £33,000 on its first weekend across 28 UK screens in December 2025, while 'Becoming Victoria Wood' opened on 23 screens earlier this month, making £21,000 on its opening weekend.
Despite the low ticket sales, Donald Trump posted on Instagram and Truth Social that the film is 'a MUST WATCH' and that tickets are 'selling out, FAST!'
