First Lady Melania Trump to Receive at Least $28 Million in $40 Million Deal with Amazon for Documentary Film. According to Statista, video-on-demand has seen massive growth in recent years. Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Disney+ each have over 150 million subscribers worldwide, thanks to libraries that offer a vast selection of movies, TV shows, and documentaries with just one click.
These services have grown globally, especially in 2023. The United States had the highest subscription video-on-demand penetration rate, with approximately 46.3% of the U.S. population subscribed to these platforms. Norway and Canada completed the top three, according to Statista.
Melania Trump to Work with Amazon
According to a Wall Street Journal report, Donald Trump will receive more than 70% of the deal’s profits and has also been seeking sponsorship agreements for the film.
Reportedly, the First Lady also told top executives who attended her husband’s inauguration on January 20 that they needed to contribute at least $10 million in exchange for recognition at the end of the film’s credits.
As an additional benefit, executives who agree to pay for sponsorship will receive an invitation to the documentary’s premiere, according to the Journal.
The First Lady’s deal with Amazon was finalized shortly after the company’s founder, Jeff Bezos, traveled to Mar-a-Lago in December for dinner with her husband, who had defeated his Democratic opponent, former Vice President Kamala Harris, weeks earlier in the November 5 election.
According to the Journal, the First Lady was interested in persuading Bezos—the founder of Amazon and owner of The Washington Post, who has historically had a tense relationship with the President—to purchase the documentary rights.
Weeks earlier, Bezos had prevented his newspaper’s traditionally Democratic-leaning editorial board from publishing an endorsement for Harris. He later pledged $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund.
Melania Trump reportedly enlisted the help of Brett Ratner, the Hollywood director and producer known for hits like the Rush Hour trilogy, as well as blockbuster films such as Red Dragon and X-Men: The Last Stand.
In that regard, the Journal reported that the $40 million sum was the highest amount Amazon had ever spent on a documentary—three times higher than the closest competing offers.
Paramount, the parent company of CBS, made what the Journal described as a “low” bid of $4 million, while Disney submitted a more respectable offer of $14 million, according to the report. Netflix and Apple declined to bid, the Journal reported.
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