"Melania" is chugging along at the box office after animpressive opening weekend.
The controversial documentary aboutfirst lady Melania Trumpgrossed another $2.37 million in North American theaters in its second weekend of release, according to estimates shared Sunday, Feb. 8, by Amazon MGM Studios. This represents a decline of 67% from the movie's first weekend, bringing its domestic total to date to $13.35 million.
A 67% decline is considered a fairly large drop at the box office, generally indicating that devoted fans prioritized seeing the film early on and that there may not be a huge audience beyond that in theaters. But the second weekend of "Melania" also fell on Super Bowl weekend, which is traditionally a slow period for movie theaters.
The horror-thriller "Send Help," which debuted Jan. 30, repeated at No. 1 at the North American box office this weekend with another $10 million, according to Comscore estimates. "Melania" was in 10th place, below a pair of 2025 releases: Disney's animated smash "Zootopia 2" grossed $4 million, and the sci-fi epic "Avatar: Fire and Ash" collected an additional $3.5 million. Two new horror titles, "Dracula" and "The Strangers – Chapter 3," took in $4.5 million and $3.5 million, respectively.
"Melania," which follows the first lady in the 20 days leading up toPresident Donald Trump's2025 inauguration, is coming off a surprising theatrical debut of $7 million. "Melania" had been tracking to make $3 million to $5 million in its opening weekend.
Jeff Bock, senior media analyst for Exhibitor Relations, told USA TODAY ahead of the movie's release that any opening above $1 million would be a "huge number," suggesting "that a lot of folks who don't normally go to the movies went to this."
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Amazon MGM Studiospurchased "Melania" and a companion docuseries for $40 millionand reportedly spent$35 millionon marketing. The film is far from being profitable just yet, though Amazon will recoup some of its costs through ads and streaming service sign-ups.
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"Melania" director Brett Ratner" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
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"Melania" producer and first lady adviser Marc Beckman" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
House Speaker Mike Johnson and his wife Kelly." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Jennifer Rauchet" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
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U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz and his wife, former U.S. Homeland Security adviser Julia Nesheiwat." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Christie Mullin and Sen. Markwayne Mullin" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
Special Presidential Envoy for Special Missions of United States Richard Grenell" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
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Melania Trump is chic in black at movie's Kennedy Center premiere
Thenew "Melania" documentaryhad a splashy premiere at the Trump Kennedy Center in Washington on Jan. 29, 2026. See which celebrities and political figures walked the red carpet, starting with President Donald Trumpfirst lady Melania Trump.
In a statement, Kevin Wilson, Amazon MGM Studios' head of domestic theatrical distribution, hailed the documentary's "strong theatrical performance" and said the release has built "momentum ahead of the film's eventual debut on Prime Video."
Directed byBrett Ratner, who was ousted from Hollywood in 2017 after six women accused him of sexual harassment, "Melania" wasalmost universally pannedby critics.USA TODAY's Brian Truittwrote that "while it does offer an extremely flattering view of all things Melania, outside of a few candid glimpses, you're not going to learn a lot about who she really is."
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, "Melania"received a dismal approval ratingof just 8% from critics. Audiences, though, have embraced it. "Melania" earned a Rotten Tomatoes score of 99% from moviegoers who could verify that they purchased a ticket to see it, and audiences polled by the market research firm CinemaScoregave it a grade of A.
Contributing: Brian Truitt
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:'Melania' movie box office – How it performed in second weekend
