Box office figures have emerged for the new Melania Trump documentary, and it appears that older white women are behind some of the drive.
Amazon Prime Video‘s Melania premiered in cinemas last week, and follows the First Lady in the build-up to her husband Donald Trump‘s second inauguration as US President.
Since its debut, the film has taken $7.04million (£5.13million) in North America, with Amazon originally buying the film for $40million (£29.20million) and spending $35million (£25.55million) in marketing.
Some of the demographic data has now emerged, with 72% of audiences female and a larger majority of 83% over 45, according to Variety – a notable break from cinema audiences typically dominated by young men.
Additionally, 75 per cent were white (via PostTrak), with Hispanic audiences following at 11 per cent and Black and Asian at 4 per cent.
That’s a higher proportion compared to bigger weekend films Send Help and Iron Lung, which were each just over 50 per cent white and 21 per cent Hispanic by comparison. Additionally, Melania performed better in rural areas and red cities.
David A. Gross, head of movie consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research, suggested that “this older, female audience admires and looks up to Melania as a role model” (via Variety).
“It’s a niche market who wants to see a film like this,” added box office analyst Jeff Bock. “These are typically people who don’t go to the movies. This is the film that sways them to go to theaters.”
Responding to the box office, Amazon MGM’s head of domestic theatrical distribution, Kevin Wilson said: “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 docu-series, 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.”
The film has fared less well with critics, taking a 10 per cent fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes. However, audiences rated it 99 per cent, and it earned an A rating in CinemaScore exit polls.
Elsewhere, Donald Trump and his administration’s ICE policies were called out by a number of winners at last night’s (February 1) Grammy Awards.
Speaking after winning Best Musica Urbana Album, Bad Bunny declared: “Before I say thanks to god, I’m gonna say, ICE out,” adding: “We are not savage, we are not animals, we are not aliens, we are humans and we are Americans.”
Billie Eilish said that “no one is illegal on stolen land” and was bleeped saying “fuck ICE”, while Olivia Dean took a subtle swipe at Trump by declaring she was a “granddaughter of an immigrant” and a “product of bravery”, and believes “those people deserve to be celebrated”.
Many other artists have recently been vocal around ICE’s increasing violence in the US, including Bruce Springsteen, Tom Morello and Lady Gaga.