From empty theaters to packed houses, response to Melania Trump documentary reflects America’s political division

Carmel, Indiana (CNN) — Marla Ailor attended President Donald Trump’s inauguration last year with her family, and remembered thinking it was a long day.

So she breathed a sigh of relief on Friday as she watched Melania Trump’s documentary and saw that — after a day that included three balls and returning to the White House at 2 a.m. — the first lady kicked off her heels.

“It’s a gauntlet,” she said. “You really appreciate what they have to go through in order to get through an event like that, and what their day must really be like.”

Ailor, the elected clerk-treasurer of nearby Westfield, was one of about 100 people — mostly older women — who packed all but two of the 10 rows of seats at a Regal movie theater northeast of Indianapolis on Friday for one of the first showings of Amazon MGM Studios’ “Melania,” which documents a 20-day stretch leading up to Trump’s return to office. In Carmel, a group of about 20 women who are active in local politics bought tickets for the 12:45 p.m. showing.

The film wasn’t a hit in every city on its opening day. Theaters in some cities were nearly empty. In Washington, DC, the first showing of the day — 11:30 a.m. ET at Regal Gallery Place downtown — was about one-third filled, and almost everyone in the theater was a reporter. Representatives of NPR, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Atlantic were among those in the room.

Before the previews began, a male reporter called out, “Is everyone a journalist here?”

A chorus of replies came from across the room: “Here.” “Here.” “Here.”

“Any civilians?” the man asked.

“I’m a civilian,” said one woman, who added that she was there with a journalist friend.

Critics have alleged the multi-million dollar film might have been made with an ulterior motive. The president on Thursday batted away suggestions that the $40 million that Amazon MGM Studios paid to acquire the rights could constitute corruption. “I think it’s really going to be very important. It shows life in the White House. It’s a big deal actually,” he told reporters on the red carpet at a Kennedy Center premiere.

In the film, it’s the president, not the first lady, who draws most of the laughs. One scene depicts Donald Trump asking his wife if she’d watched his election night victory speech, as she responds — seemingly in a hurry to get off the phone — that she’ll catch it later on the news. Attendees chuckled when he’s told he’ll ride to the inauguration with outgoing President Joe Biden and responds, “That’ll be an interesting drive.”

In London, some who attended the documentary’s opening day panned it afterward. One person said that “it’s like if Victoria Beckham became first lady.”

Siblings Daniel and Elise Fairweather both disliked the film, even though Daniel — who called it “tone-deaf” — said he likes Melania Trump herself. “She’s surrounded by ‘yes’ men,” Elise Fairweather said.

Still, across the United States on Friday, many Trump supporters said they’d bought tickets to see “Melania” on its opening day because they wanted to demonstrate their support for the first family.

Outside an AMC theater in Los Angeles, Mary Eike, a 74-year-old retired CPA and Trump supporter, said she showed up early to catch the first screening. When asked what motivated her to come see the film, Eike told CNN she feels it’s “about time they did something with that gorgeous first lady.”

“This woman is beautiful and she’s charming and nice and just a strong person,” said Eike, a Los Angeles resident who voted for Trump. “If I had a daughter, I’d want her to be just like her.”

After seeing the documentary, Eike told CNN that she’d been struck by the same thing Ailor in Indiana had mentioned.

“What I couldn’t get over was 22 hours in heels — looking drop dead gorgeous after 22 hours,” Eike said.

A 73-seat theater at the Cinemark Majestic in Meridian, Idaho, was nearly full. Most of the theatergoers appeared to be in the 50s, 60s or 70s, and mostly female. Their reactions during the screening were largely subdued, with a few chuckles here and there, such as when Melania Trump calls her husband and says, “Hi, Mr. President,” and he responds, “Hi, honey.”

“It was interesting to see the role of the first lady and garner perspective on what she does,” said Kenny Cormack of Meridian, who said he’d come to the earliest showing largely to accompany his mother and sister.

He said the most surprising thing, to him, was “the influence she had on the decorations, and the thought that went into it. That part kind of impressed me.”

In Jupiter, Florida, 69-year-old Maggie Little said she loved the music — including Melania Trump singing Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” during a car ride and waving her hands to the Village People’s “Y.M.C.A.”

In California, Eva Hackett, 80, a retired real estate agent and a Los Angeles resident, said she appreciated seeing “how much work” goes into being the first lady.

“I have a lot of admiration, more for her now than before. I knew she was intelligent. I always liked the fact that she was stubborn,” Hackett said. “I thought she gave us a good insight into everything that goes into the first lady – and the long day and the patience.”

A moment many attendees across the county pointed to as a highlight: Melania Trump suggesting the word “unifier” as she watched the then president-elect practicing his inaugural address and looking for a word to replace what had previously been written. The president works in the first lady’s suggestion, and pauses, turns and points to her after delivering the line during his speech.

In Indiana, Erica Strahm, a 52-year-old youth coordinator for a tobacco prevention and cessation program from Westfield, said she teared up at times during the movie — including when Melania Trump talked about her relationship with her mother, who died in early 2024.

Strahm said she wanted to see the film on its opening day to show her support. She said she didn’t learn new things about the Trumps, but appreciated being able to “see the behind the scenes of what you don’t normally get to see.”

“I didn’t know what to expect, and I thought it was fantastic. It was one of those movies where at the end I wanted to clap,” she said.

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