First Lady Melania Trump’s documentary, “Melania,” has become the top movie on Amazon Prime Video in the United States and globally after its March 9 streaming release.
Amazon MGM Studios acquired distribution rights and released the documentary in theaters in late January before adding it to Prime Video. The film reached the No. 1 spot on Amazon within 24 hours of its March 9 release, surpassing “Young Sherlock.”
Marc Beckman, a senior adviser to the first lady, says the film is popular because it tells “a story that hasn’t been told before.”
“We saw strong reactions in theaters, and now we’re seeing a similar response from viewers at home,” Beckman told The Epoch Times.
The movie, directed by Brett Ratner, had a successful debut in theaters on Jan. 30, earning more than $7 million at the domestic box office in its opening weekend, beating expectations. It was the largest opening for a nonfiction film in the past 10 years.
The movie grossed almost $20 million at the box office worldwide, said Beckman, who is also a producer of the documentary.
The film captures many moments of the first lady, including planning for the inauguration, managing her business and philanthropic work, caring for her family, moving to the White House, establishing the East Wing, and hiring staff.
In an earlier interview with The Epoch Times, Beckman said viewers could see that Melania Trump does more than just host state dinners and take on the usual first lady duties. The film documents not well-known parts of her life: philanthropy and human rights efforts. That includes her work with Fostering the Future, which focuses on improving the lives of foster children currently in homes and those transitioning out. The movie also shows her role in helping free an Israeli hostage, Keith Siegel.
Every shot in the documentary was a first take, according to Beckman. This allowed cameras to capture personal moments.
“We really did put the camera on her for those 20 days in a way where pretty much everything was covered,” Beckman said.
Amazon paid $40 million for the rights to the documentary and spent $35 million marketing it.
Later this year, a docuseries about Melania will launch on Prime and will be completely different from the film.
“It’s going to tell a different story. It’s comprised of film and storylines that, for the most part, were not covered in the film,” Beckman said.
“It will allow us to unpack with more detail stories about the first lady’s business, her family, her philanthropy, and then also what it’s like to become first lady again.”
Trump repeatedly praised the film’s success and referred to the first lady as a “big movie star.”
In a recent speech, the president also joked that there can’t be “two stars in one family.”
