Donald Trump claims tickets are ‘selling fast’ for new Melania documentary

There seems to be plenty of seats still available...

Amazon released Melania this week, its $40m authorised documentary all about the first lady of the United States, in more than 100 UK cinemas.

The doc is all about the US President ’s wife in the twenty days before her husband’s second presidential inauguration.

Writing on social media, Trump claimed:  "MELANIA, the Movie, is a MUST WATCH... Get your tickets today - Selling out, FAST!"

Despite Trump's claims, it appears to be the opposite for UK cinemas, with some showing single-figure ticket sales in the week ahead of the release.

Speaking to the Telegraph, Tim Richards, the chief executive of Vue, described ticket sales as “soft.”

He said he had received a considerable number of emails from the public criticising the decision to show the film.

“I have told everyone that, regardless of how we feel about the movie, if it is BBFC [British Board of Film Classification] approved we look at them and 99% of the time we will show it,” he said. “We do not play judge and jury to censor movies.”

Along with being an embarrassing look for Melania, it seems the documentary is going to be a box-office bomb for Amazon, who have spent huge amounts on the project.

Along with the $40m sum for the rights, Amazon’s MGM Studios has pumped $35m into the marketing of the film.

However, the millions spent on the film are clearly more of an attempt from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos to curry favour with president Trump.

Odeon, Vue, Cineworld and Showcase are all set to show the film in the UK, whilst it will also be released in almost 30 countries worldwide.

Even in north America, things are looking bleak for Melania, as it is expected to gross just $5m in the US and Canada on its opening weekend.