The First Lady’s new movie won’t gain any early traction in one major African market. Melania tells the story of the 20 days leading up to Donald Trump’s inauguration. The movie focuses on Melania Trump ahead of her husband’s return to office. It will come out in 5,000 theatres worldwide.
Presales in the US ahead of the big opening have already reached $1 million. Meanwhile, it could rake in approximately $5 in the United States in 1,500 theatres. If that happens, it will signal one of the best documentary debuts of the last decade.
The Melania Trump movie will no longer be shown in South Africa
Melania won’t get any box-office revenue from South Africa. The country’s distributor Filmfinity officially pulled the movie from its theatre lineup. The company’s head of sales and marketing, Thobashan Govindarajulu tells South Africa’s News24, “That was our decision.” He did say there were recent developments but did not elaborate.
Amazon MGM Studios is building out its own theatrical distribution around the globe for the documentary. FilmNation handles international distribution and marketing worldwide. The studio paid $40 million to license it. The movie will be available in over 100 cinemas in the UK.
Bret Ratner, who many may know from the Rush Hour franchise, among others is the film’s director. He was a controversial choice as director. In 2017, he was accused of rape by an employee during the height of the #MeToo movement.
Donald has been hyping up the movie, suggesting the likes of Jeff Bezos, Lauren Sánchez, and Wayne and Janet Gretzky would attend its premiere at the Kennedy Center. Melania’s step-daughter, Ivanka, however, was apparently snubbed from that premiere.
Melania officially hits theatres on Friday. It should be available on Amazon Prime a few weeks later.
TELL US – WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE REASON SOUTH AFRICA WON’T SHOW MELANIA IN THEATRES?
