neoplacebo wrote: ↑Wed Feb 04, 2026 3:01 pmI remember Spy vs Spy from Mad magazine. And of course you're aware that later on Alfred E. Newman became president, calling himself George W. Bush.
I always thought of the spies as being male. If Dubya was Newman does that mean that Melania is transgender Spy in Black? Nttawwt.
EXCLUSIVE: IVANKA TRUMP HASN’T WATCHED MELANIA DOCUMENTARY
AND INSIDERS SAY THAT’S NO ACCIDENT
Now we know.‘Melania’ Arrives With Strong Box Office Showing for a Documentary
Amazon backed up the Brink’s trucks for the vanity film, resulting in weekend ticket sales of about $7 million in North America, enough for third place.
Amazon’s gold-plated rollout for Melania Trump’s documentary resulted in opening-weekend ticket sales of $7 million in the United States and Canada, box office analysts said on Sunday. That gave “Melania” the best start for a documentary (excluding concert films) in 14 years.
The investment was the bribe, not the anticipated ticket sales.It was a face-saving result for the first lady — last week, ticket sales were pacing at about $5 million — but not for Amazon, which spent an exorbitant $75 million to buy distribution rights to “Melania” and market its release in 1,778 domestic theaters. Theater owners keep roughly 50 percent of ticket sales, meaning that Amazon will end the weekend with about $3.5 million to show for its investment.
Funny comparison.... “Melania” had the best result for a wide-release documentary, excluding concert films, since 2012, when the nature film “Chimpanzee” arrived to $10.7 million, or about $15 million after adjusting for inflation, according to Comscore data. “Melania” placed third for the weekend at the North American box office....
I thought Dozy Don has been claiming we're respected abroad like never before.“Melania” was also released in 1,600 theaters overseas. Amazon declined to provide an estimate for international ticket sales on Sunday. Box office analysts said turnout was poor.
No surprise.In the United States and Canada, theaters in rural areas contributed roughly 46 percent of the opening-weekend total for “Melania,” far higher than is typical for a film opening, according to EntTelligence, a research firm. Republican counties also overperformed, contributing about 53 percent of ticket sales, according to EntTelligence. Top states included Florida, Texas and Arizona.
Did sneering like ours motivate some MAGAts to get off the couch? Probably.The audience was overwhelmingly female (70 percent) and over the age of 55, according to Amazon....
Bob Schmidt, 60, went to see “Melania” at the Alamo Drafthouse on Staten Island on Friday. He rarely goes to the movies anymore, he said, but he bought a ticket to send a message to what he called the liberal movie industry. “I wanted to see this movie kick Hollywood’s ass,” Mr. Schmidt said. (During the screening, attendees erupted in applause during the scene when President Trump is sworn in. Someone shouted, “Trump 2028!”)
There's a question?Amazon, of course, can also monetize “Melania” on its Prime streaming service, where the film is expected to become available in three to four weeks. But the company’s spending on the documentary was so extreme — it paid $40 million for the rights alone, about $26 million more than the next closest bidder — that a question will linger: Was this all just an attempt for Amazon to ingratiate itself with President Trump?
Bribe. As I (and everyone else) said.“This is a political investment, not a for-profit movie venture,” said David A. Gross, a film consultant who publishes an influential newsletter on box office numbers.
DonOLD's economy.Amazon’s lavish spending on “Melania” coincided with 16,000 layoffs at the company (on top of the 14,000 corporate employees it expunged in October), adding to a bumpy moment for the company’s brand.
... (The rights to “Melania” came with an accompanying series, also about Mrs. Trump, that is expected to appear on Prime Video this year.)
People who went to see “Melania” gave it an A grade in CinemaScore exit polls....
But critics savaged Mrs. Trump’s affectionate self-portrait. (She produced the film and had editorial control.) “It’s so orchestrated and airbrushed and stage-managed that it barely rises to the level of a shameless infomercial,” wrote Owen Gleiberman, chief movie critic for Variety, the Hollywood trade publication.
GoMichaelGo!... No documentary has ever cost as much as “Melania,” though. To grasp just how uncustomary Amazon’s spending on “Melania” is, consider that Focus Features spent an estimated $12 million, or $15.5 million after adjusting for inflation, on “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” release rights and marketing.
Every so often, a documentary hits a mass cultural nerve. “Fahrenheit 9/11,” Michael Moore’s flame-throwing film about George W. Bush and the 2001 terrorist strike on the United States, holds the record for the best-selling documentary in history. It collected $119 million in North America in 2004, or $208 million in current dollars.
I never considered either the two Ruths or Connery and the Ayatollah but they're both better than Kerry / Munster.
