Thousands of active-duty military personnel may have been "pressured" into seeing the Melania documentary at cinemas around the country, a watchdog has warned.
The Military Religious Freedom Foundation has warned that thousands of active-duty military personnel may have been coerced into attending screenings of the Melania documentary.
-- Raw Story (@rawstory.com) Feb 7, 2026 at 12:00 PM
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Melania's Movie Shows Signs of Bulk Buying to Boost Box Office: Guru
www.yahoo.com
... Melania did better at the box office than some prognosticators expected. Now, one industry expert is claiming ticket sales have been intentionally bolstered through possibly nefarious means.
Amazon MGM's $75 million documentary about the first lady made $7 million on its opening weekend, eliciting both gloating headlines and skepticism. Many have already touted Melania, which traces the first lady's activities in the days leading up to her husband's 2025 inauguration, as a success.
But according to box-office expert and former IndieWire Editor Tom Brueggemann, there are signs of "fake ticket sales" in order to inflate the earnings associated with the documentary. He raised the possibility that tickets were bought in bulk and handed out to audiences -- or not handed out at all. ...
Related ...
'Melania' Documentary Sees Dramatic Drop Despite Expansion
www.newsweek.com
... The documentary Melania, featuring First Lady Melania Trump, experienced a 67 percent decline in domestic box office revenue during its second weekend, earning $2.37 million from North American theaters.
The film dropped from No. 3 to No. 10, bringing its 10-day domestic total to $13.35 million, according to estimates from Amazon MGM Studios shared Sunday. The decline occurred despite the documentary expanding to 2,003 venues and follows Super Bowl weekend, traditionally a slow period for theaters.
Newsweek reached out to Amazon MGM Studios via email on Sunday for comment. ...
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