Box Office: ‘Melania’ Bests Jason Statham’s ‘Shelter’ to Place No. 3 With $7M, ‘Send Help’ Soars to $20M Win – Hollywood Reporter
Amazon MGM Studios paid $40 million for world rights to the Brett Ratner-directed film shadowing first lady Melania Trump in the 20 days before her husband’s second inauguration, making it the most expensive documentary in history.
The wait is finally over to see if the first lady’s new documentary — the most expensive in history.and the most expensive in history — would be able to rely on her husband’s supporters to turn up at the box office to watch Melania as she tries to carve out her own career and identity.
They did, with the Amazon MGM Studios doc — directed by Brett Ratner in his first film since he was accused of multiple incidents of sexual misconduct — launching safely in third-place behind Send Help and Iron Lung with a better-than-expected $7 million from 1,778 theaters, the best showing in a decade for a non-fiction title (the number could change again when weekend actuals are announced tomorrow). Melania is also opening overseas in 20 countries, but so the filmmakers and Amazon aren’t reporting grosses, suggesting a soft showing at best.
That makes Disney the winner on the global stage for the 10th consecutive weekend. Sam Raimi’s acclaimed horror-thriller Send Help topped the domestic chart with a better-than-expected $20 million and earned another $8.1 million overseas for a global launch of $28.1 million against a net budget of $40 million before marketing. The darkly comic horror-thriller stars Rachel McAdams and Dylan O’Brien as coworkers stranded on a desert island.
And Melania’s performance wasn’t the only surprise twist of the weekend. Indie pic Iron Lung from Mark Fischbach (aka Markiplier) of YouTube gaming fame nipped at Send Help‘s heels on Friday but ultimately placed second with nearly $17.9 million. The film, helmed by Fischbach in his directorial debut, is based on the submarine simulation horror game of the same name that was developed and published by David Szymanski, who helped with the film’s screenplay and makes a cameo.
Melania is also opening overseas in 20 countries, but so the filmmakers and Amazon aren’t reporting grosses, suggesting a soft showing at best. A prominent exhibitor in London to the U.K. local media it had only sold one ticket as of 10 or 12 days a week ago, sparking a torrent of headlines, while a distributor in South Africa — where tensions are strained with Trump — pulled Melania from release at the 11th hour.
Numerous news outlets in the U.S. als suggested Melania would be an all-out bomb with as little as $1 million. Exhibitors were also worried and had lowered their estimates to $2 million to $4 million based on sluggish ticket sales.
But a grassroots campaign engineered by various conservative groups paid off for the Trump, along with a sizeable marketing campaign, at least for a doc, that was used to spend millions on TV ads aired on pricey NFL games and expensive digital installations at venues around the globe, including The Sphere in Las Vegas.
Amazon MGM Studios paid $40 million for worldwide rights to release the documentary both in theaters and on its streaming service Prime Video, making Melania the most expensive doc in history in what many view as an attempt to curry favor with President Donald Trump. Amazon spent another $35 million on the global marketing campaign, with at least $20 million dedicated to the U.S.
Disney Animation’s Thanksgiving hit Zootopia 2, came in No. 4 in its 10th weekend with an estimated $5.8 million for a domestic tally $408.9 milion. It was up 9 percent from last weekend, when hundreds of theaters shuttered because of severe weather storm in large swaths of the country day following the announcement of Oscar nominations Nov. 22. Insiders speculate the spike, the most of any title in the top 15, could reflect pent-up demand to see the pic after it landed a nomination for best animated feature.
James Cameron’s Avatar: Fire and Ash, while shut out of the best picture race, was down only 15 percent in its 7th weekend to tie with Shelter for fifth place (both are estimating $5.5 milion. Combined, Disney titles amassed more than $73 million this weekend worldwide, but the media is focsed one one title only — Melania.
The doc is galvanizing conservatives in the South and South-central part of the country. That’s good news for Amazon’s streaming service, Prime Video. Top-grossing cities included numerous cities in such conservative states as Texas, Florida — including West Palm Beach, not far from Mar-a-Lago – Lousiaina, Georgia, Arizona, Tennessee, Alabama, Tennesse, Oklanha, Ohioo and Reno. California and New York were not on the list, although organizers did host invite-only screenings in Los Angles, Orange County, the Bay Area and and across the city in New York City, where guests were treated to a simulcast of the Dec. 31 primere in Washington where the president and first lady walked the carpet.
“We’re very encouraged by the strong start and positive audience response, with early box office for Melania exceeding our expectations. This momentum is an important first step in what we see as a long-tail lifecycle for both the film and the forthcoming docuseries, extending well beyond the theatrical window and into what we believe will be a significant run for both on our service. We are confident in the long-term value this rollout will deliver to customers both in theaters, and for years to come on Prime Video,” said chief of domestic distribution Kevin Wilson.
Sources say Melania will play exclusively in cinemas for a good chunk of time before heading to Prime. Exhibition sources counter that could change if traffic falls off a cliff.
A domestic theatrical campaign for even the biggest docs generally runs no more than $5 million to $7 million. There are exceptions, including former vice president Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth and Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11. Sources say the domestic marketing spend was close to $15 million on each of those titles because of the awards factor, not adjusted for inflation.
Almost two decades later, Fahrenheit 9/11 remains the top-grossing doc of all time among any genre, and not just political, and still holds the record for top opening. Fahrenheit debuted to $23.9 million domestically from 868 theaters on its way to a North American cume of $119.2 million and $222 million globally, not adjusted for inflation.
Critics are trashing Melania the doc, as reflected by its current 6 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes. Many box office pundits say Trump supporters expected negative reviews from what they consider to the left-leaning media. Indeed, audiences gave Melania an A Cinemascore, while its audience score on Rotten Tomatoes is 99 percent, the highest of any film in the top 10 this weekend.
Amazon, which is using FilmNation to help overseas, had intended to report foreign grosses. So far, that information isn’t being provided (the first lady was insistent on a theatrical push around the globe). n to open Melania in more than 20 markets overseas, where Prime Video has a huge footprint, was a bold move, considering how controversial of a figure her husband is. He’s presently in a tussle with South Africa, where a distributor pulled Melania from release earlier this week. And there’s been a torrent of bad press coming out of Europe regarding empty theaters (just as in the U.S.).
All numbers could shift once final weekend numbers are tallied Monday.
