3 minutes of readingNew DelhiFebruary 7, 2026 02:16 pm IST
Melania Trump, the First Lady of the United States, is currently trying to bring her documentary to a wider audience. The documentary Melania It received a lot of criticism from the beginning, with many boycotting it outright. However, the audience score (popcornmeter) on the Rotten Tomatoes platform seems to tell a different story. Melania currently stands at 99%, which has raised some doubts, because the critics’ score (tomatometer) on the same platform is 8%.
This is the largest split ever made between the two metrics, which has led people to believe that something untoward is happening. According to a report from The Hollywood Reporter, a spokesperson for the platform addressed the allegations of numbers manipulation, promising that “there has been no manipulation of audience reviews for Melania’s documentary. The reviews displayed on Popcornmeter are verified reviews, meaning users have been verified to have purchased a ticket to the film through Fandango.”
Criticism vs. Audience
Several critics have given the film horrible reviews; for example, Adam Graham of the Detroit News wrote: “Its defining trait is that it is mind-numbingly, agonizingly boring.” While Jemima Kelly of the Financial Times wrote: “It’s unclear why the first lady thought she should make this film. It would be easy to dismiss it as pure propaganda, but if it is, it’s not very successful.”
Melania’s Rotten Tomatoes score. (Photo: screenshot/Rotten Tomatoes)
On the other hand, the public’s reviews give the impression of having seen a completely different film. One verified user wrote: “It was entertaining and informative about the inaugural events. It was not a political movie. I really enjoyed it. I would definitely recommend it.” Another user wrote: “A very interesting look into the life of FLOTUS as he prepares for the inauguration. This was much more fun than an interview format.”
Michelle Obama’s documentary “Witnesses” increases in audience
According to Amazon MGM, Melania’s documentary earned $7.1 million during its opening weekendwhich can be considered positive, despite the 75 million dollars budget hanging from the neck of the studio. Whether Brett Ratner’s direction is attracting attention or not, there’s a documentary on the market that’s definitely getting views since Melania’s release.
The documentary about the life of Michelle Obama, former first lady of the United States, titled Becoming, recorded a 13,000% increase in views on Netflix. According to data provider Luminate, the documentary was watched for 354,000 minutes during the last week of January, then increased to 47.5 million minutes over the weekend of January 30-February 1. The documentary premiered in 2020 and is now experiencing a resurgence.