Older White Women in Red States Really Loved This Documentary About an Immigrant!

In what seems to be the most uniting moment since Chardonnay was invented, older white Republican women flocked to movie theaters this past weekend to watch Melania, the nearly two-hour-long documentary about the First Lady financed by Jeff Bezos and directed by accused sex pest Brett Ratner. The film allegedly follows her during the 20 days leading up to Trump’s second inauguration in 2025, though the trailer basically just showed her wearing sunglasses.

But watching Melania dawdle about in giant shades is just the kind of entertainment MAGA yearns for, and theaters in red states like Texas, Florida, and Tennessee were the country’s top-grossing. (Also on the list were Louisiana, Georgia, Arizona, Alabama, Oklahoma, Ohio, and Nevada.) According to the Hollywood Reporter, audiences were 72% female and 83% over the age of 45—an outstanding difference compared to the younger men that typically haunt box offices, and a makeup similar to that of a faith-based movie. Which makes sense, because according to Robert Jeffress, a Texas pastor whose prayer is featured in the documentary, “church ladies” loved the flick.

Some of our “church ladies” at the new movie MELANIA that includes my prayer for the President and First Lady! @FLOTUS @POTUS pic.twitter.com/OzDupYdjm5

— Dr. Robert Jeffress (@robertjeffress) January 31, 2026

“All of this matches with the Trump fan base,” David A. Gross, a film consultant, told Axios. “The areas where the movie is performing best are the areas where the president is still popular.” He added that older white women “see Melania as an accomplished role model—someone they look up to.” I mean, if hating your husband, turning a blind eye as your predecessors’ legacies are destroyed, and exhibiting I-can-fix-him energy while patethically attempting to address world crises is “role model behavior,” then sure! Go nuts, ladies.

Jeff Bezos’ Amazon MGM Studios reportedly spent about spent about $40 million to make the film, then spent an additional $35 million to market it. But thanks to the country’s white, middle-aged MAGA women, the documentary outperformed its $5 million flop status, grossing $7.04 million by the weekend’s end.

The proud Gen-X’ers who opened their purses for Melania were also, inexplicably, impressed by what they saw. According to CinemaScore exit polls, audiences gave the film an “A” grade, while it got a 99% on Rotten Tomatoes’ Popcornmeter—which is not to be confused with its Tomatometer, which is determined by actual critics: that score was a scathing 6%. But insisting you’re more popular than you are hated is, after all, a pillar of MAGA delusion.

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