Amazon pulls Melania from Oregon cinema after owner criticizes as rumors grow about ‘fake ticket sales’ | Melania

An independent cinema in Oregon has claimed that Amazon has pulled screenings of its documentary about Melania Trump in protest of the cinema’s marketing strategy.

As the local newspaper Lake Oswego Review reported, the general manager of Lake Theater & Cafe claimed that the company canceled future showings of Brett Ratner’s authorized study of the First Lady after being alerted to promotional pushes such as: “To defeat your enemy. You must know them. Melania” and “Does Melania wear Prada? Find out on Friday!”

“I received a call saying that the higher-ups (e.g. at Amazon) were upset with the way our company was marketing their film (e.g. Melania) and that Sunday, for them, would be their last day here,” Jordan Perry wrote on the cinema’s Instagram.

Perry added that he hopes Amazon doesn’t cancel his Prime membership and directed loyal Amazon fans to “show your support at Whole Foods instead.” The cinema owner also addressed those who criticized his decision to show the film in the first place.

In a post titled “Why I, Jordan, Got Melania Here,” Perry wrote that his overriding instinct was that the programming “would be funny.” There’s also a financial imperative, he added: “The film market this week and next week has been a desert… So, to fill the screen, why not get this inexplicable piece of vanity from the current president’s wife? I mean it seems so weird that it even exists (who wants a movie about Melania haha?), wouldn’t it be exponentially more weird, to the point of being funny, to show it here, in this clearly anti-establishment, sometimes problematic neighborhood cinema?”

Amazon’s cancellation of the film at Oregon cinemas comes as some in the US have pointed out the discrepancy between good ticket sales and seemingly empty movie theaters.

The film grossed $7 million (£5.1 million) during its opening weekend domestically and opened at number three in the US box office charts. The Daily Beast reported that there were accusations of “fake ticket sales” to boost box office grosses.

Quoting subreddit critic Tom Brueggemann, the article claims: “Industry sources say there are indications that batches of tickets were purchased for the weekend, then distributed to seniors’ homes, Republican activists and other interested parties for free to help boost the crowds.”

Meanwhile, Book reporter Matthew Bellone said Amazon and cinema chains AMC and Regal told him they “did not experience unusual mass purchases of tickets” for the film, while adding that “theatre chains may not necessarily know, of course.”

Exit reports from US weekend screenings indicated that “older white women” were the demographic most responsible for propelling the film to success.

In the UK, where Melania opened on 155 screens, takings were much lower. The film opened at number 29 in the UK charts, with a weekend screen average of £212.

The film’s US box office currently accounts for about 98.8% of the film’s total, with Melania’s home country of Slovenia proving to be a better performer internationally.

In the UK, some industry insiders wondered whether the film’s unusually wide release could be indicative of “four walls”: the release strategy under which distributors pay cinemas to show the film.