Amazon Halts Screening Of Melania Trump Documentary From Movie Theater In Light Of Marquee Jokes

1 week ago 12

Melania seated staring into the middle distance in Melania

Published Feb 4, 2026, 3:31 PM EST

Abigail is an editor for ScreenRant, currently writing and editing movie news. You may also have seen her thoughts on animated television, musical theater, and fantasy literature in Paste Magazine, Fantasy Hive, or The Oxford Blue. She has also written SR lists and op-eds covering movies, TV, and books as well. She is an English major through and through, having graduated with a B.A. from UC Santa Barbara and an MPhil from Oxford University.

The first lady's new movie is pulled from one particular theater, following some mocking comments via the marquee.

Melania was released in theaters on January 30, a documentary following First Lady Melania Trump in the lead-up to President Donald Trump's second inauguration in 2025. Melania debuted to a dismal Rotten Tomatoes score, which has fluctuated since then, but currently stands at 5%. One cinema in Oregon, however, took a comedic approach to the release of the highly controversial feature.

The Hollywood Reporter describes The Lake Theater and Cafe in Lake Oswego as being "long known for finding creatively witty ways to advertise its movies." First reported by The Oregonian, Lake Theater was asked to stop showing Melania after Sunday, due to how the venue marketed it, by putting up the phrase "To defeat your enemy, you must know them. Melania starts Friday" on the marquee.

The theater also, at another point, used "Does Melania wear Prada? Find out Friday." Manager Jordan Perry said that Amazon "was not happy and/or did not appreciate my take on marketing their film to our own public," but also that he had been trying to find a way to reduce the movie's run to one week, given the backlash from Lake Oswego's moviegoers that they were showing it at all.

After the movie was pulled, Lake Theater changed its marquee to read: "Amazon called. Our marquee made them mad. All Melania showings cancelled. Show your support at Whole Foods instead" (see on Instagram). Perry shared on the movie theater's website why Melania was brought there: "Financially, the film marketplace this week and next were a desert."

January is typically a slow month for theatrical releases, though the box office is now being dominated by the horror hit from Sam Raimi, Send Help, before February titles take over. Perry mentioned Send Help as well, but explained that this type of movie doesn't usually do well at this venue, and he found showing Melania a humorous idea:

Financially, the film marketplace this week and next were a desert. The most viable alternative, Send Help, is of a class (R-rated, benignly edgy) that just proved, again, doesn't do well here [...] So, to fill a screen, why not get this inexplicable vanity piece from the current president's wife? I mean, it just seems so weird that it even exists (who wants a movie about Melania lol?), and wouldn't it then be exponentially weirder, to the point of being funny, to show it here, at your obviously anti-establishment, occasionally troublemaking, neighborhood cinema?

Perry also revealed that the venue sold $196 worth of tickets to Melania during the weekend, mostly to note that they didn't give that much money back to the project. Melania has grossed around $8 million to date, which is actually a record-breaking number for a documentary's opening, but still signifies this being a massive flop, as Amazon MGM paid $40 million to produce it and $35 million to market it.

Melania is directed by Brett Ratner of Rush Hour fame, marking his return to filmmaking after being blacklisted for several years due to sexual assault allegations, and adding to the movie's controversies. However, Melania is currently still in many more theaters nationwide.