Has the Melania Trump movie been banned? Update on Amazon’s $75m documentary

by

Amazon’s documentary about Melania Trump is coming out this weekend, but it’s been surrounded by problems. Reports have surfaced about the director, Brett Ratner, facing past controversies, and the film reportedly cost Amazon MGM Studios $75 million. There’s also been some question about whether it’s been officially banned.

The upcoming documentary, “Melania,” will chronicle the final 20 days before Donald Trump’s second inauguration, focusing on the First Lady. Melania became an executive producer of the film soon after the 2024 election, encouraged by the good response to her autobiography.

Amazon spent a record-breaking $40 million to acquire the rights to the film, and revealed in 2025 that Brett Ratner, the filmmaker known for the Rush Hour series and recently embroiled in controversy, would be directing.

Production began in December 2024, with a significant portion filmed at Mar-a-Lago. The company behind the movie has since spent around $35 million on promotion, but the project hasn’t been without its issues.

Is the Melania Trump documentary banned?

Despite being pulled from theaters in South Africa, the release of ‘Melania’ is still scheduled for January 30, 2026. The recent confusion likely arose from the film’s removal in South Africa.

The documentary was set to premiere in South African cinemas thanks to Filmfinity, the local distributor, after receiving all necessary approvals and ratings.

Melania was scheduled to be shown in cinemas across the country, including large chains like Ster-Kinekor and Nu Metro, and at smaller, independent theaters such as the Labia Theatre in Cape Town. But the film has now been pulled from release.

Filmfinity’s head of sales and marketing, Thobashan Govindarajulu, told the New York Times that the company has decided against releasing the film in theaters. He stated, “We’ve made the decision not to move forward with a theatrical release.”

While officials haven’t explained the decision, a report from MeidasTouch News indicates that Filmfinity and cinemas showing the film were warned about potential negative reactions given the current world events.

This movie is released soon after the death of Alex Pretti, a nurse from Minneapolis, who was killed by a Border Patrol agent. This follows the killing of Renee Good earlier this month, making her the second civilian killed by Border Patrol this month.

The concerns weren’t really about the film being censored, but rather whether it could be shown as simple entertainment without providing extra information to give viewers a fuller understanding.

People familiar with the project explained that the decision to pull it was simply a matter of distribution. MTN clarified that the documentary hasn’t been prohibited and remains available for viewing internationally.

Sources also indicated that Melania faced increased attention because of the film’s director, Brett Ratner.

Brett Ratner controversy explained

As a movie fan, I knew Brett Ratner from directing some of my favorites like the Rush Hour films, The Family Man, and even Red Dragon and X-Men: The Last Stand. But it wasn’t just directing – he also helped produce some seriously intense stuff like The Revenant and the Prison Break TV show, which I totally binged!

In 2017, as the #MeToo movement gained momentum, six women accused Ratner of sexual assault and harassment. This led to the cancellation of his business ventures and planned projects.

Despite never facing official charges, several accusations were made against him. Recently released documents from the Epstein case included a photo of Ratner with Jean-Luc Brunel, a model agent and associate of Epstein, who is now deceased.

Melania is the first significant undertaking for him since the allegations surfaced, and several employees spoke out this week – without revealing their names – to express concerns about Ratner’s conduct.

One member of the production crew told Rolling Stone they had some concerns about the film’s potentially propagandistic elements, but that Brett Ratner was the biggest issue during the project.

Interestingly, about two-thirds of the documentary crew in New York have reportedly asked not to be credited for their work.

Someone else receiving recognition admits they wish they’d taken action earlier, saying they are now far more concerned than they were a year ago.

Someone familiar with the production described the director, Ratner, as the most difficult aspect of the job, and learned he was in charge only a few days before filming started. Another person on set said there was more discussion about Ratner’s negative behavior than about Melania Trump.

The film crew remembered the director constantly leaving messes behind him. They also said they worked incredibly long days without even getting meal breaks, but it seemed things were much easier for Ratner.

One person reported that a customer chewed gum and then discarded it into a coffee cup on their cart, completely ignoring them the entire time.

Okay, so someone told me this crazy story about Brett. Apparently, he just helped himself to food, went over to where everyone was working, and started eating with his hands – like, really messy! It was either a super rude move, or he honestly didn’t even realize everyone else was busy and hadn’t eaten yet. It was just…weird and kind of gross, honestly.

A member of the film crew complimented Ratner, describing him as a remarkably perceptive, emotional, and intelligent director whose talent will be evident in the final product. However, his history is one of the factors contributing to the recent increased attention on Melania.

Early ticket sales paint a mixed picture for Melania movie

Tickets for the new movie are selling quickly, with strong pre-sale numbers. Donald Trump even promoted it on his social media, urging people to buy tickets immediately and noting they were selling out rapidly.

The premiere of the #Melania documentary in Charleston’s largest theater didn’t sell a single ticket – not even for the smallest screening room! That’s a really bad sign.

— Tyler Jones (@TylerMJones) January 28, 2026

With the movie coming to theaters on January 30th in the US and other countries (and eventually on Prime Video at a later date), concerns are rising about how well tickets are selling.

Things have been a little slow at the cinemas lately, to be honest. I heard from Tim Richards, the head of Vue, that ticket sales are down. It’s gotten to the point where I saw they only had one ticket sold for the 3:10 PM showing on Friday at their big London location, and just two for the 6 PM show. It’s a bit worrying, even for me, and I usually go to the cinema every week!

I checked just now, and it looks like there are still tickets available for all 28 showings of ‘Melania’ at the Blackburn, Castleford, and Hamilton locations. Seems like you can still snag a seat if you’re interested!

People online in the US are posting pictures of empty movie theaters at popular chains like AMC Boston Common and Cinemark in Jacksonville, Florida.

Wide open at AMC Boston Common

– —

Ticket sales for the movie seem to be off to a slow start. As of Thursday, the day before its release, only 11 seats were sold for the 7:45 PM showing at AMC Empire 25 in New York, which has almost 100 seats. The 4:20 PM showing at Cinemark Orlando and XD had a similar result, with just 11 tickets sold out of 66 available.

While availability changes based on location and when you look, reports consistently show that tickets to see Melania are still available.

Estimates for the film’s opening weekend box office are all over the map. Some predict a very low debut of around $1 million, which would be one of the worst wide releases on record. More optimistic forecasts suggest it could earn $5 million, equaling the year’s highest-grossing documentary, ‘Am I Racist?’

Considering the documentary cost around $75 million to make, its success won’t be judged solely on how well it does in theaters. We’ll have a better understanding of how it performed overall in the next few days.

In the meantime, check out everything coming up with our 2026 movies release calendar.

Read More

2026-01-29 19:51