Melania Trump’s self-titled documentary debuted January 30th, but despite the high cost of production and extensive marketing campaign, the film was a bit of a flop. One film did see a surge in popularity that weekend, though: Michelle Obama’s 2020 documentary Becoming. Netflix reported a 13,000% increase in viewership the same weekend that Melania released, a movement from anti-Trump citizens that started on social media. Keep reading for more information.
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'Becoming' Viewers Surge Amid 'Melania' Release
Melania, which was directed by Brett Ratner and produced by Amazon's MGM Studios, had a $40M production budget and a $35M marketing budget. Despite these numbers, the film only grossed $7.1M its opening weekend. Another interesting statistic: over 70% of all ticket buyers were over the age of 70.
Instead of heading to theaters to watch Melania, younger crowds flocked to their couches and turned on Netflix to watch Becoming, Michelle Obama's documentary, which premiered in 2020. The streaming site reported that viewership of Becoming during the January 30th weekend rose over 13,000% to 47.5M minutes viewed, a stark comparison to the previous weekend's 354,000 minutes. This movement to watch Michelle's documentary over Melania's started on TikTok, with users banding together against the Trump regime.
Social Media Reactions
Across social media platforms, including TikTok and Reddit, users reacted to the statistics and stood behind their movement to boycott the Melania documentary. "Had to remind ourselves of what a real First Lady is supposed to be," one person wrote on Reddit. "A movie! Melania? How ridiculous. She has no accomplishments."
"Very happy to read this," another person wrote. "Michelle Obama stands shoulder to shoulder among modern day first ladies like Eleanor Roosevelt, Jacqueline Kennedy and Rosalynn Carter for her works, classiness and graciousness."
"She is the absolute standard for a Presidential First Lady in my eyes," another comment reads. "She showed nothing but grace throughout the 8+ years of absurd criticism, racism, and downright bulls*** thrown at her."
"I miss [Michelle] being in the White House!" a final fan posted.
