‘Melania’ documentary debuts with terrible reviews amid massive critics-audience divide

The documentary ‘Melania’ debuts with a 7% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes, sparking fierce backlash from reviewers

The highly anticipated documentary Melania, the Amazon MGM Studios release chronicling Melania Trump’s life in the days leading up to her husband’s 2025 inauguration, has been met with overwhelming disapproval from film critics. After its theatrical debut, early reviews aggregated on Rotten Tomatoes show a 7 % critics score, placing the film among the lowest-rated releases currently listed on the platform.

Directed by Brett Ratner, the documentary follows the former First Lady as she oversees preparations for the inauguration and navigates family and political responsibilities. While supporters hoped the project would provide a compelling inside look, critics characterised the film as shallow, overly curated and propagandistic. Variety’s Owen Gleiberman called it “orchestrated and airbrushed,” saying it “barely rises to the level of a shameless infomercial.” The Hollywood Reporter’s Frank Scheck described the documentary as so fawning that it makes viewers feel “downright unpatriotic” if they don’t gush over its subject, and The Guardian labelled it “exhaustingly boring and chillingly vain.”

One critic’s online comment that Melania was so dull they’d “rather rewatch January 6th” has been widely shared, illustrating how extreme some reviewers’ reactions have been. Many critics criticised the film’s lack of substantive exploration of its subject, arguing that it focuses disproportionately on surface level details and avoidance of more meaningful context.

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Interestingly, the overwhelmingly negative critical response stands in sharp contrast to audience reactions on Rotten Tomatoes, where verified viewers initially gave the film a near-universal score. This vast divide between critics and audiences, a gap of more than 90 points, is exceptionally rare on the platform and suggests strongly polarised reception among different groups.

On the box office front, early projections before release suggested the documentary might record one of the largest openings for a documentary in years, driven by curiosity and heavy promotional efforts. However, actual ticket sales and longer-term performance data have yet to fully materialise, and some industry observers believe the critical backlash could dampen audience interest outside core supporter bases.

As Melania continues its theatrical run and heads toward streaming on Prime Video, the film’s reception remains a headline topic, not just for its content but for what its critical panning says about the intersection of politics, celebrity and filmmaking in a deeply divided cultural moment.