Melania documentary reception and box office reflects ‘disconnect’ of critics and audiences: Joe Concha

Washington Examiner senior writer Joe Concha said Monday that audience reception is what “really matters” when looking at the box office performance of first lady Melania Trump’s documentary.

Despite being negatively received by most film critics, Melania, a film giving a behind-the-scenes look at the first lady’s 20 days before Inauguration Day 2025, opened to $7 million over the weekend, the biggest opening for a non-music documentary in over a decade. 

Concha, who saw the film Sunday and thought it was “excellent,” said the film’s 99% audience score and 10% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes are similar to the Reagan biopic released in 2024. Reagan starred Dennis Quaid as the 40th president, and got a similar 98% audience score against an 18% critics score. 

“This shows