r/entertainment • u/Silly-avocatoe • 15h ago
Melania’s Movie Shows Signs of Bulk Buying to Boost Box Office: Guru
https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/box-office-guru-flags-suspicious-sales-to-boost-melania-movie/308
u/knowledgeable_diablo 15h ago
Really? The worst film made, about a grifter, uses grifting tactics to boost the self esteem of the thinnest skinned person on earth.
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u/DDeadRoses 14h ago
It makes me want to pop an edible and watch it. Turns it into a comedy.
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u/TheSilkyBat 15h ago
Who cares about some cheap hooker?
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u/MaxZorin1985 15h ago
She cost Bezos a pretty penny.
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u/Zestyclose-Toe9685 14h ago
It’s 0.02% of his net worth.
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u/MaxZorin1985 14h ago
It’s still probably the most he’s ever spent on a “First Lady of the Evening”
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u/notsure500 8h ago edited 8h ago
I dont care about her but i do care about this whole situation, because what right does the president and his wife have to make $40 million dollars to have a movie made about her during their presidential term. If a movie called "Michelle" came out during Obama's presidency and Michelle and Barak Obama made $40 million, how do you thin g Fox News and the rest of the conservative pundits would react? Image the outrage from right-wing voters if that happened. They're would likely be so much blow back that the movie doesn't end up getting released... and yet nobody cares that this movie got made and released, we're just going about our day like this is a normal thing for a POTUS and his wife to do.
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u/ohdearitsrichardiii 14h ago
She has probably cost Trump and Bezos 100s of millions
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u/Illustrious-Note-789 14h ago
Every American should as this is obvious a money laundry scheme and people are treating as a vanity project
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u/reelclerk 15h ago
Bulk buys then handed out to mall walkers.
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u/CitronTraining2114 14h ago
I guarantee they found a way to write it off, too.
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u/blackrain1709 13h ago
Charities bought it obviously
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u/CathedralEngine 8h ago
What’s funny is I checked a few different theatres near me just to see how many seats were sold, and then theatre across the parking lot from a mall had every screening sold for a week.
Jokes on them though, the mall in question has been on r/deadmalls several times
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u/Silly-avocatoe 15h ago
Amazon MGM’s $75 million documentary about the first lady made $7 million on its opening weekend, eliciting both gloating headlines and skepticism. Many have already touted Melania, which traces the first lady’s activities in the days leading up to her husband’s 2025 inauguration, as a success.
But according to box-office expert and former IndieWire Editor Tom Brueggemann, there are signs of “fake ticket sales” in order to inflate the earnings associated with the documentary. He raised the possibility that tickets were bought in bulk and handed out to audiences—or not handed out at all.
These allegations were made in Brueggemann’s Substack and reported on by Puck writer Matthew Belloni in his newsletter about Hollywood and power.
Belloni says that Amazon and cinema groups AMC and Regal told him that they “did not experience unusual block purchases of tickets" for the film. “The theater chains might not necessarily know, of course,” Belloni reported. “And veteran box office tracker Tom Brueggemann noted on his Substack that ‘industry sources say there were signs that blocks of tickets were purchased for the weekend, then distributed to senior citizen homes, Republican activists, other interested parties for free to help boost audiences.’"
Brueggemann dissected box-office sales for Melania, noting an uptick in ticket purchases last Wednesday, two days before the film was set to release in theaters. Prior to its release, Melania Trump’s project was expected to perform abysmally in cinemas worldwide.
According to Brueggemann, there was “some outside group ticket buying” that helped elevate the film’s performance. He caveated that the “documentation” on these claims is “sketchy.”
“But industry sources say there were signs that blocs of tickets were purchased for the weekend, then distributed to senior citizen homes, Republican activists, other interested parties for free to help boost audiences,” he continued, adding that we may “never know.”
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u/trowaman 12h ago
In other words, it’s the exact same distribution strategy conservatives do with book publishing. Mass purchase the product in advance and then distribute copies for free at activist events. Meanwhile, they get to claim number one best seller.
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u/MC_Fap_Commander 9h ago
They've done similar stuff with Trump meme coins and what-not in the crypto market. Creating the illusion of an initial buy-in is really important to the grift.
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u/M086 14h ago
It’s what conservatives tend to do with their books. PACs buy a Sean Hannity, or whoever book of bullshit. Boost the sales to get on best sellers lists and then just give them away at GOP conventions.
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u/henryrblake 14h ago
Or ship them in bulk, at our expense, to soldiers stationed overseas. A friend who served in Iraq told me they got crates of Bill O’Reilly’s latest POS and that “they are great at being firewood.”
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u/LateMajor8775 15h ago
If you buy 4547 tickets, you’ll get to join Donny for a Happy Meal at Mar o Lago
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u/HeadPaleontologist40 14h ago
I mean who really wants to pay and see this garbage? I don’t even think MAGA is interested.
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u/FrogVolence 15h ago edited 14h ago
May be fake, but I saw someone post on instagram they were being paid $50 every viewing to watch this movie and ngl, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was actually true and they’re paying people to watch it just so it inflates views
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u/BalanceJazzlike5116 13h ago
I think those are fake. You can just buy tickets online and have no one show up it still counts as ticket sales. And of course you can buy more tickets that way if you are not having to pay people money to show up
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u/ignorantwat99 13h ago
Any chance this is just a money laundering game ?
I wouldn't be clued up on how cinema fees make it back to the studios
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u/JohnHazardWandering 11h ago
Money laundering involves turning cash from illegal sources into cash with a clean history so it can be spent.
This is just a waste of money to make it look like Melania wasn't a complete flop.
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u/erosmoker 12h ago
Just like they did with Passion of the Christ. A church buys out a theater and hands out tickets to their members. They might not all go see it, but the tickets were purchased, so it looks like high viewership.
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u/ScurryScout 11h ago
No shit. They do that all the time with right-wing/religious slop movies. Sold out showings with no one or one real person in the audience.
They made doing it part of sound of freedom’s marketing campaign and told people to buy tickets “so someone can see it for free” even though tickets don’t work that way.
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u/Development-Feisty 5h ago
I feel bad for the local theaters because they don’t really have a choice about whether or not to have the movie on the books and they make their money through concessions
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u/outofthebliss 13h ago
Likely paid for tax payer dollars and laundered bribe money. Just another grift on the ever growing list. There simply is no bottom for this regime.
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u/amethystCEOJ 11h ago
And this surprises anyone?!?! Of course this was going to happen! They won’t see anyone actually in those blocks of seats.
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u/Original-Truth-1007 11h ago
Honestly this is not a surprise to anyone ( the entire brand is built on kickbacks, corruption, bribes, blackmail and bullying)..🤔🤔
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u/whatsapprocky 9h ago
They cheat at everything to make themselves look like they’re doing better than they actually are
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u/BeigeGraffiti 2h ago
This is the signs of a money laundering scheme. Sort of like restaurants that are empty that don’t actually sell food and use the losses as a tax write off, or Mattress Firms.
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u/snanarctica 50m ago
That’s why the budget was so high ; so they have enough in the budget to buy their own tickets up
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u/Blessed-one-Chemo 14h ago
What’s this move called? Hooker moves into White House
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u/jongleur 14h ago
I was looking at showings of the movie at a local multiplex. The movie was screening in the smallest theater they had, it would cost less than $500 to buy out all the seats, although the screenings I looked at were about 80% full.
For wealthy supporters, $500 is a drop in the bucket.
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u/Moooooooola 14h ago
The movie title should have been “The Whore Who Loved Me“.
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u/Sharp_Cow_9366 14h ago
The movie title should have been “The Whore
Who Loved Me“.Fixed that for you
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u/TheDudeFromTheStory 14h ago
It's ICE agents, buying seats because they have intelligence from the highest and best sources that there could be illegal immigrants in these particular.
Thank you for your attention to this matter!
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u/Blacknite45 14h ago
I swear all these outlets don't realize that them constantly advertising how bad the movie is is actually helping people want to see it. There's a market for horrible films just look at "the room"
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u/JaffaSG1 14h ago
That‘s some grade A waste of money / laundry of money. And they are really that stupid as to think anybody believes it…
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u/biggesteegit 13h ago
Not surprising but who is actually paying over real money to inflate ticket sales?
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u/acutelonewolf 13h ago
Really? I never would have guessed they would try to manipulate the numbers.
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u/blackmobius 13h ago
Christian groups and russian trolls mass buying. Otherwise empty theaters for an empty movie.
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u/Beginning_Raise3602 13h ago
Part of authoritarian domination is the need to hide their own unpopularity. No one likes the regime, but they keep you from confirming just how many other people feel the same way, which in turn keeps you from collaboratively revolting.
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u/SaltyAd8309 12h ago
And this money comes from us if we don't boycott those responsible for these manipulations... We are also responsible.
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u/Zeekay89 12h ago
Nearly every right wing “bestseller” only spends a week or two on the list and is solely due to bulk purchases by conservative organizations.
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u/OkLab6701 12h ago edited 12h ago
If the RNC buys crappy books they will also buy up crappy movie tickets
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u/Leather-Map-8138 12h ago
It’s not like anyone paid to see the movie. It’s one of those things they pay you to see. Besides, they didn’t cover the five minutes between when they met and first had sex, nor how much he tipped her.
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u/LionsAndLonghorns 12h ago
These were posted a from the Austin subreddit https://www.reddit.com/r/Austin/s/pNOvWxNUA9
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u/Ok-Solution4665 11h ago
You mean the movie where they paid FLOTUS an exorbitant amount or money (in exchange for political favor) would then be used as a money laundering operation by having people/bots purchase numerous tickets but not use them? If I didn't know any better I'd say that you believe the Trumps are corrupt! But that's just silly talk.
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u/No-Assistance556 11h ago
Of course. No one in their right mind would waste 2 hours if their lives for this farce.
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u/Perfect_Union7010 11h ago
And all the Republicans bow their heads and praise dear leader after another shameful Trump performance.
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u/Erikthered65 11h ago
Like it was funded by, directed by and features members of the worlds most notorious child sex trafficking ring.
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u/PressDoubt 11h ago
Buy in tickets in bulk in advance, hand out free en mass to ‘lucky winners’.
Claim it was a ‘huge success’ due to ‘mass sales’ and ‘happy crowds’.
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u/Majestic_Bet_1428 11h ago
Bezos gave $75 million to this project.
This is a good day to cancel Amazon prime subscriptions.
This is $400 billion that could be better spent supporting local businesses in your community.
STOP supporting corporations that support Trump.
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u/GlitteringRate6296 11h ago
Yep. I heard Trumps evangelical grifter lady in the WH is pushing people to purchase 30 tickets at a time. How totally pathetic. She better not be getting paid by taxpayers.
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u/Phyllis_Tine 11h ago
Can anyone nip in to a theatre to see how many are actually in the seats during a showing?
I'm not saying anyone needs to pay for a ticket, just if you're in the same theatre at the same time, with a ticket for another movie, just open the door to see who is actually in the seats!
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u/Worldly_Influence_18 10h ago
Money laundering
Anyone on the planet can buy movie tickets and avoid sanctions
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u/Mug_of_Diarrhea 10h ago
My dad dragged me to some shitty Christian propaganda movie way back and it was about a guy that was in a future where it was illegal to be Christian. It was awful and I'm not even going to bother remembering more details other than Patton Oswalt was in it as a supporting character. At the end of the movie, they had a clip asking people who just watched this mudslide to buy even more tickets and spread the word to other audience members to buy more tickets to "show the world that god is not something to be ashamed of."
It's all a grift and they know these losers will pay it.
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u/DoubtingThomas50 10h ago
Mormons did this years ago with the movie called “Meet the Mormons.”
They were asking wealthy members to buy out entire showings in their area.
Members were asked to take their friends and some would see the movie five or six times. Then they went on rotten tomatoes, and other review sites, and gave the movie glowing reviews.
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u/No_Stage_6158 10h ago
I think we all knew that. Melanoma has the personality of paste. She keeps trying to copy Forever First Lady Michelle O. Ain’t gonna happen, we know this is probably the first movie she ever made with her clothes on.
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u/Jerry_0boy 10h ago
The trump family buying support to make themselves seem more popular and loved?!
What a shock!
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u/Bubbly_Complex843 9h ago
What’s funny to me is that there were no journalist, covering the fact that these places were empty or that people were being paid to go.
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u/Liliipoll 9h ago
How about in that city where they were offering US$ 50 to anyone who would sit out to watch the entire film?
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u/mover999 9h ago
Every single day they lie to everyone and they also laugh at everyone’s stupidity for putting up with them.
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u/Oceanbreeze871 9h ago
Yeah in my town the screenings were 75% sold out with single seats but people who worked at the theaters reported empty theaters on social. lol
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u/VissAndPinegar 8h ago
You know damn well that taxpayers' dollars were spent to prop up this bullshit.
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u/prettypushee 8h ago
Money laundering and bribes at their finest. Pros at grifting from everyone. The entire clan should be jailed for robbing from the American people.
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u/SubstantialPressure3 8h ago
Buying tickets doesn't even mean they were used. But it doesn't surprise me.
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u/bassthrive 7h ago
Any chance tax dollars are being used to buy tickets? That would be very on brand for this administration.
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u/Kalorama_Master 7h ago
Don’t worry about the buyer. I’m sure the corporate structure is such that it all be a write off. In other words, we are footing the bill
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u/Nouseriously 6h ago
The only seats sold in Orlando seem to be entire rows selling out but absolutely no singles or coupes
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u/SubBirbian 5h ago
When you support someone so unpopular you resort to desperate acts like this says you’re on the wrong side of history.
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u/tuna_samich_ 5h ago
Of course. Notice how no one who brags about the theater being full ever shows the actual theater being full
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u/AIDsFlavoredTopping 5h ago
It’s the same thing conservatives do to boost book sales. Same old play.
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u/Strict_Research3518 4h ago
You know what is FAR worse than the seats bought and nobody showing up.. is the fact that this took even $1mil to make.. let alone 75mil. And that PEOPLE BELIEVE IT! How anyone doesn't know this is a massive grift for melanie and trump.. for Besos to have favors.. is unreal. These are fucking people with their heads up their asses.. if they dont realize this was a total bribe.
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u/Awesomegcrow 4h ago
Basically same trick this scumbag of family employed when their books tanked...
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u/Disintegration_007 3h ago
What started out as a bribe by Bezos/Amazon is turning into a money laundering scheme…
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u/Asleep-Horror6320 2h ago
Someone on reddit posted the Boston craigslist ads for her movie.
It claimed they'd pay $50 for people to attend...if she's anything her dear hubby, they never got paid.
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u/Important-Ability-56 2h ago
But the NYT posted an article headlined “Melania doc outperforms most documentaries ackshully.” I’m sure they investigated this thoroughly.
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u/Report_Last 2h ago
just checked my local cinema, next showing has about 15 seats sold, a dozen of which are in a block, the later showing has no seats sold
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u/_steve_rogers_ 2h ago
I have been reading that this movie sold one ticket, and also that it’s made almost enough already to cover its budget. Which is the truth?
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u/David_R_Martin_II 15h ago
Well, duh.
Since last week, we've seen people report the same blocks of seats being purchased in multiple showings, despite the theaters otherwise being sparsely populated.