On Saturday night, Apple CEO Tim Cook attended a private movie screening at the White House. So did the CEOs of Amazon, Zoom, AMD, and GE.
A winter storm was bearing down on Washington, D.C. Protests over a Border Patrol shooting were happening in Minneapolis. They came anyway.
They watched a 104-minute documentary about Melania Trump planning her return to the White House—selecting outfits, coordinating galas, and navigating the 20 days before the inauguration. According to The Hollywood Reporter, a military band played “Melania’s Waltz” as they entered. Gloved waiters served commemorative popcorn boxes to avoid fingerprints. Each guest received a framed, collectible screening ticket.
The film opens in 1,400 theaters nationwide on Friday. According to BoxOfficePro, it will make $1 million to $2 million its opening weekend.
Amazon paid $40 million for the rights.
The Guest List
Tim Cook (Apple), Andy Jassy (Amazon), Eric Yuan (Zoom), and Lisa Su (AMD) were among the tech CEOs who attended Saturday’s White House screening. Image credit: Wikimedia commons
The 70-person screening included Tim Cook (Apple CEO), Andy Jassy (Amazon CEO), Eric Yuan (Zoom CEO), Lisa Su (AMD CEO), Larry Culp (GE CEO), and Lynn Martin (NYSE CEO). Also present: Mike Tyson, Queen Rania of Jordan, Tony Robbins, director Brett Ratner, and photographer Ellen von Unwerth.
The screening took place in the East Room. The White House Family Theater—where presidents had screened films since 1942—was demolished in October to make way for Trump’s $400 million ballroom. Melania oversaw the construction of a temporary theater for the occasion, with audiovisual equipment supervised by Ratner.
It was the first time President Trump saw the completed film.
The $75 Million Question
Image Credit: @AmazonMGMStudios/YouTube
Amazon paid $40 million for the rights to MELANIA. According to Puck’s Matthew Belloni, the studio has spent an additional $35 million on marketing—billboards across major cities, TV spots, and radio ads.
Total investment: $75 million.
For context, Sony’s The Garfield Movie cost $60 million to produce and grossed $257 million worldwide. Blake Lively’s It Ends With Us was made for $25 million and earned $351 million globally. Bob Marley: One Love had a $70 million budget and brought in $180 million.
BoxOfficePro projects MELANIA will make $1-2 million on its opening weekend.
If those numbers hold, Amazon will have spent $75 million to earn back roughly 1.3% to 2.7% of its investment in the first three days.
What’s At Stake
Apple is navigating tariff policy and antitrust scrutiny. Amazon holds billions in government cloud contracts and faces ongoing antitrust cases. Zoom operates under constant data privacy regulations. AMD manufactures chips subject to export controls. GE depends on defense contracts.
Jeff Bezos dined with Trump at Mar-a-Lago before Amazon announced the $40 million deal. Amazon donated $1 million to the inaugural fund. On Saturday, five more tech CEOs showed up to watch a documentary about event planning.
The Box Office
Image Credit: @AmazonMGMStudios/YouTube
Advance ticket sales have been described as “soft.” Hollywood insider Rob Shuter reported on his Naughty But Nice Substack that a source in New York told him, “only a handful of seats have been booked.”
The film is slated to open in 1,400 theaters in 27 countries. Industry tracking suggests most of those seats will remain empty.
The Trump-Kennedy Center premiere is Thursday. Melania will ring the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday, January 28, to promote the film.
Saturday Night
Back in the makeshift White House theater, 70 guests watched as Melania selected her inaugural wardrobe and coordinated seating charts. The military band stayed on to play songs from Hollywood movies. Guests left with cookies for the road.
Regular theaters open to the public on Friday.