If there was something more shocking than the release of the MELANIA documentary, it was the reviews. Not the polite kind, not the middle-of-the-road kind, but the kind that makes the internet stop scrolling. The Amazon MGM-backed documentary landed with a jaw-dropping 99% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, sitting right next to a disastrous 7% critics' score as of MELANIA’s second weekend of release. Cue the whispers, then the accusations.

Some critics and online commentators were quick to suggest that a score this lopsided had to be engineered. Bought tickets. Coordinated campaigns. Even MAGA-backed review brigades. The implication was clear: no documentary this politically loaded gets that kind of audience love without some digital muscle behind it. Rotten Tomatoes, however, did not let the narrative spiral unchecked.

Rotten Tomatoes, through its parent company Versant, moved fast to shut down the speculation. 

“There has been no bot manipulation on the audience reviews for the ‘Melania’ documentary. Reviews displayed on the Popcornmeter are VERIFIED reviews, meaning it has been verified that users have bought a ticket to the film,” Versant, said, in a statement to Variety. In other words, these are not drive-by or bot-generated ratings: they are tied to real purchases, real seats, real viewers.

That clarification matters, especially when you look at who those viewers are. As Variety reported, the opening-weekend audience for MELANIA skewed 72% female and 83% over the age of 45. This was not a chaotic online swarm. It was a very specific, very motivated demographic showing up, buying tickets, and voting with intent. Despite that, the critics online were ruthless. And that raises the bigger question.

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 If the numbers are real, what exactly is it about this documentary that is proving so divisive?

Directed by Brett Ratner, MELANIA follows Melania Trump in the 20 days leading up to Donald Trump’s second presidential inauguration. The film positions itself as an access-driven portrait, offering controlled intimacy rather than confrontation. Ratner, whose previous work spans glossy Hollywood fare rather than political nonfiction, brings a polished, almost ceremonial tone to the project.

Financially, the stakes were high. The documentary opened to $7 million domestically, a strong start for a feature documentary, but not extraordinary given that Amazon reportedly bought the film for $40 million and then spent an additional $35 million on marketing. Promotion leaned heavily into prestige framing, selective clips, and event-style rollouts, signaling that this was not meant to be niche viewing. It was designed to be seen, debated, and measured.

All of this has made MELANIA less about the woman at its center and more about what audiences want from political storytelling right now.

The ‘Melania’ Documentary Is Getting Dragged by Critics, and the Score Says It All

Are the audience scores a genuine reflection, or just another chapter in America’s never-ending culture war? Share your thoughts.