{"id":709834,"date":"2026-01-29T15:35:13","date_gmt":"2026-01-29T12:35:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/melania-the-first-ladys-new-documentary-abruptly-pulled-from-release-in-south-africa\/"},"modified":"2026-01-29T15:35:13","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T12:35:13","slug":"melania-the-first-ladys-new-documentary-abruptly-pulled-from-release-in-south-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/melania-the-first-ladys-new-documentary-abruptly-pulled-from-release-in-south-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Melania,\u2019 the First Lady\u2019s New Documentary, Abruptly Pulled From Release in South Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

\n\tEarlier this week, Amazon and the filmmaking team behind Melania<\/em> \u2014 the inaugural title from the First Lady\u2019s new production company Muse \u2014 were expected to announce the 20 or more countries where the documentary is opening overseas this weekend, timed to its Jan. 30 release in North America. But those plans never materialized.<\/p>\n

\n\tOne possible reason for the switch-up emerged on Wednesday when a media<\/a> outlet in South Africa reported that the film\u2019s distributor was pulling Melania<\/em> 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\u2019s\u00a0white minority is facing a genocide<\/a>, and introducing potentially crippling tariffs.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cBased on recent developments, we\u2019ve taken the decision to not go ahead with a theatrical release in [the] territory,\u201d South African distributor Filmfinity said in a statemen<\/a>t to The New York Times<\/em>\u2018s Johannesburg bureau. Filmfinity\u2019s change of heart was first reported by the South African outlet News24<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\tFilmfinity\u2019s head of sales and marketing Thobashan Govindarajulu didn\u2019t elaborate on the reasons for the change in plans but noted that the company wasn\u2019t pressured by outside forces to pull the film. \u201cThat was our decision,\u201d <\/a>he told the NYT<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhile President Trump has supported his wife\u2019s film on Truth Social and will stand by her side at the premiere of Melania<\/em> at the newly named Trump-Kennedy Center today, Thursday, Jan. 29, the day before the doc\u2019s global debut, the first lady\u2019s team and Amazon have done the heavy lifting. The tech giant paid an eye-popping $40 million to license worldwide rights to the film, plus a docu-series<\/a>, after agreeing to give Melania a proper theatrical release before sending it to Prime. Sources say Prime is the true payday in terms of keeping subs happ<\/a>y.)<\/p>\n

\n\tIt remains to be seen whether the president\u2019s escalating unhappiness with South African will be exacerbated by Melania<\/em> and result in increased tensions.<\/p>\n

\n\tSince Amazon MGM Studios is still building an international operation overseas, it is relying on widely respected foreign sales and production company FilmNation to play the middleman and arrange for the films to get into foreign theaters, along with helping to coordinate marketing in overseas markets.<\/p>\n

\n\tMelania<\/em> was shot during the 20 days leading up to the 2025 inauguration by Brett Ratner, the canceled Rush Hour <\/em>director who is trying to make a Hollywood comeback after being accused of serious sexual misconduct nearly a decade ago (he denies all allegations).<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cStep inside Melania Trump\u2019s world as she orchestrates inauguration plans, navigates the complexities of the White House transition, and moves her family back to the Nation\u2019s Capital. With exclusive footage capturing critical meetings, private conversations, and never-before-seen environments,\u00a0Melania<\/em>\u00a0showcases Mrs. Trump\u2019s return to one of the world\u2019s most powerful roles,\u201d Amazon MGM said in its preview memo.<\/p>\n

\n\tSources close to the project say Amazon MGM is spending $35 million on the global marketing campaign; the domestic spend is likely in the $15 million range, while another $10 million is being spent overseas. That\u2019s as much as some might spend on a smaller feature, but not a documentary. <\/p>\n

\n\tAnd although Amazon MGM hasn\u2019t yet provided an exact list of countries where\u00a0Melania<\/em>\u00a0will play overseas, the international\u00a0campaign included placements in such cities as Mexico City, Tokyo and London, according to Amazon\u2019s preview note. It will also play in parts of the Middle East, according to sources.<\/p>\n

\n\tAmazon didn\u2019t immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Earlier this week, Amazon and the filmmaking team behind Melania \u2014 the inaugural title from the First Lady\u2019s new production company Muse \u2014 were expected to announce the 20 or more countries where the documentary is opening overseas this weekend, timed to its Jan. 30 release in North America. But those plans never materialized. One…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-709834","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-social-mediaa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/709834","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=709834"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/709834\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=709834"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=709834"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=709834"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}