Amazon is set to release its Melania Trump documentary in cinemas in January 2026.
The film follows the first lady in the 20 days before the 2025 inauguration and comes from director Brett Ratner. It marks the film-maker’s first feature since he was accused of sexual misconduct by a number of women in 2017. He had denied the claims.
The official description states that Melania will show us the world through her eyes as “she orchestrates inauguration plans, navigates the complexities of the White House transition, and re-enters public life with her family”. The documentary will also include “exclusive footage capturing critical meetings, private conversations, and never-before-seen environments”. She also acts as a producer on the project.
“We started the production in November, and we are shooting right now, so it’s a day-to-day life, what I’m doing, what kind of responsibilities I have,” Melania said in an interview on Fox & Friends in January. “It’s day-to-day, from transition team to moving to the White House, packing, establishing my team, the first lady office, moving into the White House, what it takes to make the residence your home, to hire the people that you need.”
She added that the film was partly a result of the success of her memoir. The Guardian’s Lloyd Green called that “a 180-page exercise in buck-passing and blame-dodging”.
Amazon reportedly spent $40m for the rights to the documentary. The company’s founder and executive chairman, Jeff Bezos, attended Donald Trump’s inauguration earlier this year. Bezos had previously been under fire for allegedly barring the Washington Post for endorsing Trump’s rival Kamala Harris in the election. He later defended the decision as a way to avoid media bias.
Alongside the documentary, Amazon will also release a three-part docuseries on Melania showing her life travelling between New York, Washington DC and Palm Beach.
Ratner’s credits include the Rush Hour franchise and Red Dragon. After multiple women, including the actors Natasha Henstridge and Olivia Munn, accused him of sexual misconduct, his deal with Warner Bros was ended.
In 2023, he moved to Israel and called himself a “proud Zionist” on Instagram. Ratner is also rumoured to be working on a documentary about the Abraham Accords and is known to be friendly with Benjamin Netanyahu, sharing pictures of them together on his social media.
Melania will be released in cinemas on 30 January and will stream on Amazon Prime at a later date.
