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The reviews are in for Melania<\/em>, Brett Ratner<\/a>\u2018s documentary following the First Lady through the 20 days leading up to the 2025 presidential inauguration. Critics and audiences appear to have watched two entirely different films.<\/p>\n As of Friday evening, the documentary holds a 7% on Rotten Tomatoes<\/a> from 15 critic reviews and a 99% audience score from over 100 verified ratings. That\u2019s a 92-point gap \u2014 the kind of split you almost never see on the platform.<\/p>\n On Metacritic, it\u2019s even uglier. The film sits at a 4 out of 100, which the site classifies as \u201coverwhelming dislike.\u201d For perspective, Rotten Tomatoes maintains a list of the 100 worst-reviewed films of all time. The cutoff to make that list is 4% or lower.<\/p>\n Only one of the 15 critics gave the film a positive review. No press screeners were sent out beforehand. Every critic who reviewed it had to buy a ticket.<\/p>\n What the Critics Said<\/strong><\/p>\n They didn\u2019t hold back.<\/p>\n Variety\u2019s Owen Gleiberman called it an \u201corchestrated, airbrushed\u201d piece of work that \u201cbarely rises to the level of a shameless infomercial.\u201d The Hollywood Reporter\u2019s Frank Scheck said the film \u201cfawns so lavishly over its subject that you feel downright unpatriotic not gushing over it.\u201d The Guardian\u2019s Catherine Shoard described it as \u201cexhaustingly boring and chillingly vain,\u201d noting the First Lady appeared to have \u201cno friends\u201d and lived what amounted to \u201can entirely airless existence.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMelania\u201d is a documentary that never comes to life, an orchestrated and airbrushed \u201cportrait\u201d that barely rises to the level of a shameless infomercial and feels stitched together out of the most innocuous reality show outtakes. Studiously celebratory and purged of drama or\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/zVhIxNQmWT<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Variety (@Variety) January 30, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n The Atlantic\u2019s Sophie Gilbert said Ratner \u201cseems desperate to find action, but there is none.\u201d BuzzFeed\u2019s Stephanie McNeal called it the worst film she had ever seen.<\/p>\n On Letterboxd, the social film platform with over 17 million users, the documentary has already drawn more than 3,400 reviews. It currently sits at 1.2 out of 5 stars, with 93% of reviewers giving it the lowest possible rating.<\/p>\n What the Audiences Said<\/strong><\/p>\n The people who actually showed up told a very different story.<\/p>\n The 99% Popcornmeter \u2014 Rotten Tomatoes\u2019 verified audience metric \u2014 suggests near-universal approval from ticketed viewers. That kind of divide between professional critics and general audiences isn\u2019t new for politically charged releases. But 92 points is extreme by any measure.<\/p>\n The Box Office Twist<\/strong><\/p>\n Leading up to opening day, everything pointed to a disaster. A WIRED analysis of nearly 1,400 Fandango screenings found the film had sold out at exactly two theaters nationwide \u2014 one in Vero Beach, Florida, and one in Independence, Missouri. Screenshots of empty auditoriums spread across social media. A theater in Minnesota pulled its screenings entirely.<\/p>\n Then Friday happened. The documentary brought in nearly $3 million on its opening day alone, powered largely by ticket sales in Texas<\/strong>, Florida<\/strong>, and rural markets<\/strong>. It\u2019s now tracking toward an $8 million opening weekend<\/strong> \u2014 which would make it the strongest opening for a documentary in roughly ten years, ahead of After Death<\/em>, which opened to $5 million in 2023.<\/p>\n \ud83d\udea8 WATCH: First Lady Melania Trump just sold-out another theater in Michigan, selling out a screening of her new \u201cMelania\u201d movie.pic.twitter.com\/lVIt6f35fk<\/a><\/p>\n\n
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