US First Lady Melania Trump’s documentary opened to a poor box office response in America and the UK on Friday, with memes and jokes flooding the internet.
American TV hosts Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel were among the early reviewers of the film, shortly after its Washington premiere on Thursday.
“Not since The Terminator has there been this much excitement for a movie about a European cyborg,” Kimmel said in the latest episode of the American late night talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live.
“Among the luminaries in attendance were Beyonce, Leonardo DiCaprio, Lady Gaga. Oh, no wait, it was Dr. Phil and Waka Flocka Flame. In addition to President Cecil B. DeWindmill, the guest list included disgraced former New York City Mayor Eric Adams, Dr. Oz, Todd and Julie Chrisley, RFK — it was either a movie premiere or Season 35 of Dancing with the Stars,” continued Kimmel.
In the latest episode of The Tonight Show, Fallon, on the other hand, said, “Well, guys, the weekend’s almost here, and it’s going to be a big one for movies. Yeah, you got the Melania documentary, and you have the new Rachel McAdams film, ‘Send Help,’ which, fun fact, was actually the original title of the Melania movie.”
“That’s right, tonight was the official premiere of the Melania documentary at the Kennedy Center. Right now Trump is encouraging everyone to see it in IMAX so his hands look regular size. But critics are saying the film isn’t great. I’m not saying it’s bad, but after the movie, Trump took his name off the Kennedy Center,” he added.
Ahead of the documentary’s January 30 theatrical release, a meme frenzy erupted on X, with users poking fun at its box office performance.
According to The Guardian, ahead of its London premiere on Friday, only one ticket was sold for a mid-afternoon screening at a cinema in Islington, while just two tickets were snapped up for an evening show at the same venue. The situation appeared even bleaker across major multiplexes, with all scheduled screenings at Vue theatres in London recording zero advance sales.
The documentary also represents a high-stakes gamble for Amazon MGM Studios, which reportedly invested around USD 40 million in the project through a deal with Melania and her team, in addition to a USD 35 million marketing budget, according to a CNN report.
“Melania has been nominated for Best Picture, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress, Best Screenplay, and Best Cinematography in the FIFA Oscars,” one X user joked.
Another X user shared a screenshot of a Craigslist listing that allegedly offered payment to viewers to watch the documentary in Boston.
“If they showed this film on a plane, people would still walk out,” reads another post on X.
An X user captioned a photo of a person dozing off in a theatre seat, “Now seated for the Melania movie.”
Sharing a picture of an empty backyard, an X user posted, “Another world exclusive happened today in our famous Four Seasons Total Landscaping lot!!! We gathered together all the people who have gone to see the Melania movie. Here’s a photo to prove it.”
Some X users also shared photos of defaced Melania posters. One of the deformed posters features a moustache on Melania’s face, seemingly likening her to Adolf Hitler.
Directed by Brett Ratner, the documentary Melania follows Melania Trump in the 20 days before her husband Donald Trump's second presidential inauguration. This was Ratner's first film since numerous women accused him of sexual misconduct during the MeToo Movement in 2017. A photograph released by the U.S. Department of Justice in December 2025 as part of the Epstein files showed Ratner posing with Epstein associate Jean-Luc Brunel.