President Donald Trump has said that the upcoming film, Melania, which follows the First Lady Melania Trump in the lead-up to President Donald Trump’s 2025 inauguration, is “selling out fast.”
This is what ticket sales in some states are showing ahead of the film’s release.
Why It Matters
The 104-minute film is landing in the United States and some global theatres this week. The First Lady told Fox News that it provides a “private, unfiltered look as I navigate family, business, and philanthropy on my remarkable journey to becoming First Lady of the United States of America.”
There have been conflicting reports about how the film will fare at the box office. Puck reported that NRG expects the movie to gross around $5 million in the U.S. and Canada on opening weekend, with screenings in about 1,400 theaters.
However, market researcher Boxoffice has projected it will gross between $1 and $2 million in opening weekend ticket sales. Both figures are well below the $40 million Amazon paid for the title. In the United Kingdom, The Guardian reported that sales are “soft,” citing Tim Richards, who is the chief executive of Vue, one of the country’s biggest cinema operators.
The film has also already been the subject of controversy. A private screening of the film was held in the White House on Saturday. Some voiced criticism about this, as the event came after the shooting of Alex Pretti by Border Patrol agents in Minnesota. Critics, including Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, questioned whether the event should have gone ahead.
What To Know
Newsweek reviewed AMC Theatres’ show listings for this week in different theatres around the country to see if tickets are still available for Friday, January 30, the film’s opening day, and how well-sold listings are. At multiple theatres in multiple states, discounted tickets are being sold for early screenings, either in the morning or early afternoon.
In New York, AMC is listing tickets at multiple showings at the following locations: AMC Lincoln Square, AMC Orpheum, AMC Empire, AMC 34th Street, AMC Kips Bay, and AMC Ridgefield Park.
All of those showings have seats available. As of reporting on Tuesday morning, some listings have sold half or more of the available tickets, with the Kips Bay cinema having the most tickets sold. However, others have sold one ticket or fewer, with multiple showings having sold no tickets.
At AMC locations in Tennessee, more tickets have sold. For example, four out of five listings at the AMC Dine IN Thoroughbred had the majority of tickets sold, though there were still some available. The last showing of the day at 10 pm had sold two tickets as of reporting.
At the AMC Bellevue in Nashville, there are three listings over the day on Friday at 4:30 pm, 7:15 pm, and 10:00 pm. A total of five tickets have been sold for those three listings as of reporting, with the best-selling showing having sold three tickets.
Over in Texas at the AMC NorthPark in Dallas, there are three showings of the film on Friday. The best-selling is the one at 6:15 p.m., where over half of the tickets have been sold. There are still tickets available, though, with the front three rows nearly full.
In California, at the AMC Marina Marketplace in Marina Del Rey, there are three showings of the film on Friday. Two of those have sold no tickets, while one, the 7:30 p.m. showing, has sold two.
The sales at these cinemas provide a snapshot into how ticket sales are performing in different states. Republican states like Texas and Tennessee are more likely to see ticket sales, while there is less interest in Democratic states like New York and California.
As of press time, ticket sales are not at sell-out rates in any of the theatres reviewed by Newsweek, but this could change as the week goes on, and further differences could be seen in other states.
What People Are Saying
First Lady Melania Trump, in a post on X on January 25, viewed 3.5 million times: “MELANIA, the film A Historic Moment I am deeply humbled to have been surrounded by an inspiring room of friends, family, and cultural iconoclasts at the White House last night. Each of these individuals each brought their unique vision to the world, making a lasting impression. Our personal stories endure time and serve as a reminder of our mutual obligation to one another. It was an honor to present my new film, MELANIA, ahead of its global launch.”
President Donald Trump said earlier in January about the film: “I’ve seen pieces of it. It’s incredible…. It’s going to be doing the premier at The Trump Kennedy Center. It’s a very hard ticket. Everybody, Wayne Gretzky and his wife, beautiful wife. Everybody wants tickets.”
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, in a post on X on January 25, viewed 1.4 million times: “Today DHS assassinated a VA nurse in the street, Bondi is attempting to extort voter files, and half the country is bracing on the eve of a potentially crippling ice storm with FEMA gutted. So what is the President up to? Having a movie night at the White House. He’s unfit.”
Jenna Ellis, a former lawyer of Trump’s, wrote on X on January 26: “have deep respect for the First Lady and have been honored to meet her. But this event should have been postponed. With Minneapolis unraveling and Americans demanding leadership, this feels disconnected from reality. Disturbing echoes of 2020.”
What Happens Next?
The film will be released on Friday.