Cinema chain confirms Melania has finished UK run
VUE states that Melania has now finished showing after chief previously said sales had been soft
Melania Trump’s critically panned documentary appears to have dropped out of all British cinemas after making less than half of its budget worldwide.
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The film about the First Lady preparing for her husband’s 2025 inauguration, which cost an estimated $40 million to produce and distribute, was not found by LBC to be showing anywhere in the UK for the February 20-26 week.
This would have been its fourth week following its January 30 release - when it was given a massive mainstream showing.
Read also: How bad is Melania? Critics give mixed reviews to the documentary
It is perhaps unsurprising that Melania, as the film is called, has been dropped from rotation - following reports that barely any tickets had been sold for some showings around the UK.
According to Box Office Mojo, the documentary made $16 million worldwide, which was an impressive total for the film type - although it was barely a scratch on replenishing the budget.
In its first week in the UK, Melania charted at number 29 in weekly box office figures, making £32,974 across 155 cinemas, for an average of £212.80 per cinema. By the second week, it had dropped down to number 52, according to the Guardian.
VUE cinema chief Tim Richards previously said that sales had been slow. “I have told everyone that, regardless of how we feel about the movie, if it is BBFC [British Board of Film Classification] approved we look at them and 99% of the time we will show it,” he told the Telegraph. “We do not play judge and jury to censor movies.”
VUE did not wish to comment when asked by LBC, beyond an acknowledgement that Melania had finished its run.
Melania had a stronger run in the US, where it reached number three in its first week on the box office.
Kevin Wilson, of Amazon MGM, said: “This momentum is an important first step in what we see as a long-tail lifecycle for both the film and the forthcoming docu-series, extending well beyond the theatrical window and into what we believe will be a significant run for both on our service.”