Friday, January 30 is supposed to be the day a documentary about First Lady Melania Trump is released across the United States and 20 other countries, but it now appears the film won’t be available in one country, and that could be a bad omen for “Melania,” which is already expected to be a humiliating flop.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, “Melania” has been pulled from theaters across the nation of South Africa.
“A media outlet in South Africa reported that the film’s distributor was pulling Melania from release at the 11th hour. The president has been extremely critical of South Africa since the start of his second term, including suggesting that the country’s white minority is facing a genocide, and introducing potentially crippling tariffs.”
“’Based on recent developments, we’ve taken the decision to not go ahead with a theatrical release in [the] territory,’ South African distributor Filmfinity said in a statement to The New York Times‘ Johannesburg bureau. Filmfinity’s change of heart was first reported by the South African outlet News24.”
“Filmfinity’s head of sales and marketing Thobashan Govindarajulu didn’t elaborate on the reasons for the change in plans but noted that the company wasn’t pressured by outside forces to pull the film. “That was our decision,” he told the Times.”
The news from South Africa is the latest blow to “Melania” and the already fragile ego of Donald Trump, who has been talking up the film for months.
On Sunday, The Daily Beast revealed that projected revenues from “Melania” ticket sales are beyond dismal.
“The vanity project, for which Jeff Bezos’ Amazon reportedly paid $40 million, is projected to make a measly $5 million on the weekend following its Jan. 30 release.”
“That is despite the studio spending an additional $35 million on marketing and opening the release to 27 different countries.”
Could it be that most people are not the least impressed by or interested in anything to do with the so-called First Lady? Yes. And no matter how much she or her husband whine, nothing is going to change that fact.
