Melania documentary struggles in UK cinemas as Vue admits sales are soft'

"As film exhibitor strategies go, counter-programming is one of the most reliable. It worked for The Dark Knight and Mamma Mia!, released in the US on the same day in 2008, as well as for Dunkirk and Girls Trip in 2017. In 2023, Barbie and Oppenheimer leveraged the tactic to the tune of $2.5bn in combined box office takings. This week we could see another example as Amazon releases its authorised documentary about Melania Trump in more than 100 UK cinemas."

"UK ticket sales for Melania are so far soft, according to Tim Richards, the chief executive of Vue, one of the country's biggest cinema operators. Just one ticket has been sold for the first 3.10pm screening on Friday at its flagship Islington branch in London, while two have been booked for 6pm. At the time of publication, all seats remained available for the 28 screenings of Melania at the Blackburn, Castleford and Hamilton branches."

"I have told everyone that, regardless of how we feel about the movie, if it is BBFC [British Board of Film Classification] approved we look at them and 99% of the time we will show it, he said. We do not play judge and jury to censor movies. One industry analyst told the Guardian they suspected the underlying strategy was four-walling, meaning distributors pay a set fee to each cinema if they agree to play a certain title."

Counter-programming has proven effective for past box-office pairs such as The Dark Knight and Mamma Mia!, and more recently Barbie and Oppenheimer. Amazon has released an authorised documentary about Melania Trump in over 100 UK cinemas, placing it among an eclectic slate of concurrent releases. Early UK ticket sales are described as soft by Vue chief executive Tim Richards, with single-digit bookings at several branches and many screenings remaining unsold. Richards said many customers criticised the decision to screen the film but that Vue will show BBFC-approved titles and will not act as censor. One analyst suggested a four-walling strategy might explain exhibitor participation.

Read at www.theguardian.com