Melania Trump's movie bombs hard at the Australian box office
The documentary about Melania Trump which cost Amazon more than a hundred million dollars has bombed at the Australian box office.
Melania debuted on its opening weekend at 31st at the box office, selling just $22,284 worth of tickets.
In its first three days in release, it sold just $675 per screen.
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The documentary appeared in the box office list two spots above Dune: Part Two, which was showing on a single screen two years after it was first released.
Topping the box office, horror film Iron Lung debuted to $1.153 million, making $4726 per screen.
Melania, which tells the story of the weeks leading up to the president's inauguration from the perspective of the First Lady, fared much better in the US.
The film debuted in third place with $10 million in takings.
This makes it the highest debut for a documentary in years.
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In the UK, the film sold $63,000 worth of tickets, debuting in eighth place. In New Zealand it debuted at 28th with $4647.
But Melania has a steep hill to climb if it intends to be profitable for the studio.
Amazon paid $57 million for the rights to the movie, much of which went into the First Lady's pocket.
It also reportedly spent a further $50 million on promoting the movie.
In order for the movie to be a financial success for Amazon, it would need to have a historic run following its opening weekend.
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Typically movies need to make more than double their budget in order to turn a profit, given the cinemas themselves take a substantial cut of the ticket sales.
Melania has also shown an enormous divide between critical reception and how general audiences responded.
Critics reviews gathered by Rotten Tomatoes showed just seven per cent of them liked the movie.
By contrast, 98 per cent of audience members on the site said they liked the movie.
The film was directed by Brett Ratner, the Hollywood filmmaker behind blockbuster hits like Red Dragon, X-Men: The Last Stand and the Rush Hour franchise.
Melania is his first movie since six women accused him of sexual misconduct in 2017.
He is now working on Rush Hour 4 at the behest of Donald Trump.
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