Trump attends the premiere of “Melania” at the Kennedy Center before its global release

WASHINGTON (AP) — Melania Trump wrapped up her first year as first lady with the global release of a documentary she produced about the 20 days leading up to her husband, Donald Trump, returning to the White House.

Melania Trump, as a private person, remains a bit of a mystery to the public in her husband’s second term. “Melania” premieres Thursday at the Kennedy Center, where the Trump family is expected to walk down a charcoal-colored runway as dignitaries arrive before the film opens in theaters worldwide on Friday.

The First Lady said she got the idea for the documentary after her husband won the 2024 election, and said it would give viewers a rare behind-the-scenes look into her life.

Read more: Melania Trump wants people to stop calling her husband a ‘threat to democracy’

The documentary, produced by Amazon MGM Studios and said to have cost $40 million, will be broadcast exclusively on the Amazon Prime video streaming service after being released theatrically on about 1,600 screens worldwide on Friday, including about 1,500 screens in the United States.

But director Brett Ratner said he won’t measure success by how it does at the box office. “It’s a documentary, and documentaries have not historically been very successful at the box office,” he told reporters on his way to the premiere. “You can’t expect a documentary to be shown in theaters.”

Government officials and conservative commentators were present at the event. Alina Haba, President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer who now advises Attorney General Pam Bondi, said the first lady is “the epitome of a lady president” and said she wore high heels to the event in her honor.

“She’s also very personal, and I think the fact that she allowed the cameras to be there and follow her at a critical time when we were in this administration was amazing,” Haba told reporters.

Second Lady Osha Vance, House Speaker Mike Johnson, and Robert Kraft, owner of the Super Bowl-bound New England Patriots, were expected to attend, along with FIFA President Gianni Infantino, according to a listing from AmazonMGM Studios.

Melania Trump said that the film shows what it takes to assume this prominent role, as she moves between being a businesswoman, a wife and a mother, as well as the coordinator of her family’s return to the Executive Mansion.

“Everyone wants to know. Here it is,” she said in the nearly two-hour trailer for the film.

‘here we go again’

In another scene from the trailer, it’s Inauguration Day and Melania Trump is inside the Capitol building, waiting to be escorted into the rotunda for the ceremony. She turns her head, looks directly at the camera that was documenting her every move, and says, “Here we go again.”

In her self-titled memoir published in 2024, she wrote about how much she valued her privacy. She is not seen or heard as frequently as some of her recent predecessors, which may affect the public’s perceptions of her. But she also likes to do things her way.

The American public is divided on its views of the First Lady, but a significant number — about 4 in 10 adults — have no opinion or have not heard of her, according to a January 2025 CNN poll. About 3 in 10 adults saw her favorably while about the same percentage had an unfavorable opinion.

Her standing among Republicans was higher, with about 7 in 10 in the poll saying they viewed her favorably, but about a quarter had no opinion.

“I think it’s an attempt, in some way, to enhance or adapt or improve its image to the American public,” said Katherine Sibley, who teaches history at Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia. “It’s a mystery to the American people.”

The First Lady cites the influential first year of Trump’s second term

Melania Trump, 55, said she is honored to carry out the traditional duties of a first lady, such as planning state dinners, hosting the annual Easter bash and decorating for Christmas. But she also indicated that she wants to make her mark in other ways as well.

She spent long periods away from Washington last year working on the documentary and was deeply involved in every aspect of its development, according to Mark Beckman, her longtime senior adviser.

The well-being and safety of children remains one of her top priorities, and she has used her influence to pressure Congress to pass the Take It Down Act, making it a federal crime to post intimate images online without consent. The President signed the bill into law and had her sign it as well.

Her advocacy for adopted children was enshrined in an executive order that created the Adopt a Future program. It’s part of the child-focused ‘Be Best’ initiative she launched in the first term.

She also wrote to Russian President Vladimir Putin last year to help reunite children separated from their families due to his war against Ukraine. She had her husband hand-deliver the letter when the leaders met in Alaska, and later announced that the eight children had been reunited with their families.

The First Lady has a prominent role in the Republican administration’s efforts in the field of artificial intelligence and education, and recently launched a global version of the child care program.

She told guests at a White House Christmas reception that she is working on a new legislative effort for 2026, but has not yet shared details.

“Melania” took more than a year to prepare

It was not clear how much money Melania Trump would earn or what her plans were for the proceeds of any film. Experts said it was unusual for a first lady to pursue a project of this kind from the White House, but not unusual for the Trump family.

“As far as I know, she’s the first first lady to get a lot of money to make a documentary about her, which is unprecedented in terms of the Trump family because they’re always breaking precedent,” said Kathryn Jellison, professor emeritus of history at Ohio University.

Presidents and first ladies generally refrain from pursuing outside business ventures while in office to avoid potential conflicts of interest or raising ethical concerns.

Both Trumps are involved in numerous business ventures, selling him everything from watches, perfumes and Bibles to jewelry, Christmas decorations and digital collectibles for him.

The film also represents another link between the Trump family and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who has worked to improve a once-strained relationship with the president. Amazon declined to comment on the documentary’s financial arrangements.

The film is Ratner’s first project since he was accused of sexual misconduct in the early days of the #MeToo campaign. Ratner’s lawyer denied the allegations.

He shares production credits with First Lady Beckman and Fernando Solichin of New Element Media. Filming began in December 2024.

Associated Press writer Lynley Sanders contributed to this report.