{"id":2562299,"date":"2026-02-02T12:52:18","date_gmt":"2026-02-02T17:52:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/melania-film-reception-reflects-disconnect-of-critics-and-audience\/"},"modified":"2026-02-02T12:53:32","modified_gmt":"2026-02-02T17:53:32","slug":"melania-film-reception-reflects-disconnect-of-critics-and-audience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/melania-film-reception-reflects-disconnect-of-critics-and-audience\/","title":{"rendered":"Melania film reception reflects \u2018disconnect\u2019 of critics and audience"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fmelania-film-reception-reflects-disconnect-of-critics-and-audience%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2562299&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Joe Concha argued that audience reaction \u2014 not critics\u2019 reviews \u2014 is what matters after the documentary melania opened to about $7 million over the weekend, the biggest opening for a non-music documentary in more than a decade. Critics panned the film (about 10% on rotten tomatoes),while audience scores were extremely positive (around 99% on Rotten Tomatoes and an \u201cA\u201d CinemaScore). Concha,who called the film \u201cexcellent\u201d on Fox Business\u2019s Varney &#038; Co., compared the critics-vs.-audience split to the 2024 Reagan biopic and saeid the disparity reflects a disconnect between liberal critics and moviegoers. The <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >film exceeded industry expectations<\/a> (initially projected near $5 million) and drew a largely older, female audience (about 72% women over 55 on its opening Friday, and 78% of viewers older than 55 overall). President Trump and Melania celebrated the film\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/nolte-the-5-greatest-sequels-superior-to-their-original-films\/\" title=\"Nolte: The 5 Greatest Sequels Superior to Their Original ...s\">box office success<\/a> on social media. For context,the largest opening for a political documentary remains Michael Moore\u2019s Fahrenheit 9\/11,which opened to $23.9 million.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Melania documentary reception and box office reflects &lsquo;disconnect&rsquo; of critics and audiences: Joe Concha<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2492196\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p><em>Washington Examiner<\/em> senior writer <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/author\/joe-concha\/\">Joe Concha<\/a> said Monday that audience reception is what &ldquo;really matters&rdquo; when looking at the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/report-emma-stone-considering-following-scarlett-johanssons-footsteps-by-suing-disney\/\" title=\"Report: Emma Stone Considering Following Scarlett Johansson\u2019s Footsteps By Suing Disney\">box office performance<\/a> of first lady <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/melania-trump\/\">Melania Trump&rsquo;s<\/a> documentary.<\/p>\n<p>Despite being negatively received by most film critics, <em>Melania<\/em>, a film giving a behind-the-scenes look at the first lady&rsquo;s 20 days before <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/3293846\/melania-trump-inauguration-look-statement-fashion-world-embraces-first-family\/\">Inauguration Day 2025<\/a>, opened to <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/entertainment\/4442261\/melania-8-million-opening-weekend-documentary\/\">$7 million over the weekend<\/a>, the biggest opening for a non-music documentary in over a decade.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/entertainment\/4442663\/jelly-roll-authentic-praise-jesus-grammys-contrasts-other-celebrities-joe-concha\/\">Jelly Roll&#8217;s &#8216;authentic&#8217; praise of Jesus at Grammys contrasts other celebrities: Joe Concha<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/4442537\/trump-threatens-sue-grammy-host-trevor-noah-epstein-comments\/\">Trump threatens to sue Grammy host Trevor Noah over Epstein comments<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/4442514\/celebrities-blast-ice-at-grammys\/\">Celebrities blast Trump, ICE, and illegal immigration enforcement operations at Grammys<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>Concha, who saw the film Sunday and thought it was &ldquo;excellent,&rdquo; said the film&rsquo;s <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rottentomatoes.com\/m\/melania\">99% audience score and 10% critics score<\/a> on <em>Rotten Tomatoes<\/em> are similar to the <em>Reagan<\/em> biopic released in 2024. <em>Reagan<\/em> starred Dennis Quaid as the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/ronald-reagan\/\">40th president<\/a>, and got a similar <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rottentomatoes.com\/m\/reagan_2024\">98% audience score against an 18% critics score<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;This shows you the disconnect between liberals, in terms of those who are movie critics, and what really matters is the people that go to see the movie, and they all loved it. It certainly got cheers when I was done watching the movie, and this is where we are now at this point,&rdquo; Concha said on Fox Business&rsquo;s <em>Varney &amp; Co<\/em>. Monday.<\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 100%; max-width: 640px; max-height: 360px; min-width: 320px; min-height: 180px; overflow: hidden;\">\n<div style=\"position: relative; width: 100%; padding-top: 56.25%;\"><iframe src=\"https:\/\/share.grabien.com\/share?id=3354762&amp;userid=11311&amp;loginid=9421&amp;playercolor=%23000000&amp;playersize=auto&amp;code=dfd75aaa58a8d449b4518ce214274987\" style=\"position: absolute; top: 0px; left: 0px; width: 100%; height: 100%; border: 0px;\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>&ldquo;So in the end, Stuart, I&rsquo;ll leave it here: <em>Melania<\/em> the movie will be the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/2023-review-faith-based-films-box-office-success-stands-tall-against-hollywood-norms\/\" title=\"2023 Faith-based ...s defy Hollywood norms with box-office triumph\">highest-grossing documentary<\/a> in terms of an opening weekend we have seen in more than 10 years, and that&rsquo;s really saying something in terms of what people want to see, at least half the country anyway,&rdquo; Concha said.<\/p>\n<p>Both President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/energy-and-environment\/4442703\/trump-administration-looks-create-12-billion-dollar-critical-mineral-reserve\/\">Donald Trump<\/a> and his wife have celebrated the film&rsquo;s <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/@realDonaldTrump\/115995604245395993\">&ldquo;BLOCKBUSTER&rdquo;<\/a> success on social media. Melania also spotlighted the film&rsquo;s <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/MELANIATRUMP\/status\/2017663305876176951?s=20\">&ldquo;A&rdquo; rating from CinemaScore<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">First lady Melania Trump arrives for the premiere of her movie &ldquo;Melania&rdquo; at the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center For The Performing Arts, Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Jose Luis Magana)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Concha predicted last week that &ldquo;a lot of people&rdquo; would be <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/entertainment\/4438940\/joe-concha-predicts-melania-privacy-prompts-high-doc-viewership\/\">interested in learning about the first lady<\/a> through this documentary, given how &ldquo;she&rsquo;s been as private as any first lady in the modern TV era.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4442214\/trump-fbi-raid-georgia-election-jim-antle\/\"><strong>TRUMP LOOKING &lsquo;BACKWARDS&rsquo; WITH FBI RAID ON GEORGIA ELECTION FACILITY: JIM ANTLE<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p><em>Melania&rsquo;s <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/hollywood-execs-fret-over-spider-man-no-way-home-success-saying-the-film-leaves-box-office-crumbs-for-other-movies\/\" title=\"Hollywood Execs Fret Over \u2018Spider-Man: No Way Home\u2019 Success, Saying The ... Leaves \u2018Box-Office Crumbs\u2019 For Other ...s\">box office opening<\/a> went above initial industry predictions of $5 million, according to the <em>Hollywood Reporter<\/em>. The film&rsquo;s audience consisted mostly of women and older viewers, with 72% of the film&rsquo;s audience on Friday being women over 55, and <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"http:\/\/hollywoodreporter.com\/movies\/movie-news\/box-office-melania-opening-weekend-1236490092\/?taid=697e89790d6a0400013245c2&amp;utm_campaign=trueanthem&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=twitter\">78% of all viewers older than 55<\/a>, also per the <em>Hollywood Reporter<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p><em>Fahrenheit 9\/11<\/em> (2004), written and directed by Michael Moore, holds the record for the biggest opening weekend for a political documentary. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.boxofficemojo.com\/release\/rl2672854529\/?ref_=bo_tt_gr_1\">The film opened to $23.9 million<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Melania film: audiences love it, critics don&#8217;t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2632,"featured_media":2562300,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AP26030632725857-e1770050261237.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[72600,58218,72599,32423],"class_list":["post-2562299","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner","tag-critics-vs-audience","tag-film-criticism","tag-film-reception","tag-melania-trump"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AP26030632725857-e1770050261237.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2562299","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2632"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2562299"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2562299\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2562303,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2562299\/revisions\/2562303"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2562300"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2562299"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2562299"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2562299"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}