Around San Francisco, the Melania movie is not 'selling out, FAST' like Trump says

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Culture
Around San Francisco, the Melania movie is not 'selling out, FAST' like Trump says

By Timothy Karoff,
Culture Reporter
Jan 27, 2026


FILE: U.S. first lady Melania Trump hosts 30 sixth grade students for a screening of the motion picture “Wonder” in the White House movie theater Oct. 23, 2018, in Washington.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

On Monday, Donald Trump took to X to promote “Melania,” the forthcoming documentary about his wife, first lady Melania Trump. “MELANIA, the Movie, is a MUST WATCH,” the president wrote. “Get your tickets today — Selling out, FAST!”

At movie theaters in and around San Francisco, “selling out, FAST” doesn’t quite describe the state of affairs. “Melania,” which is slated to open on Friday, Jan. 30, is screening at two cinemas in the city, the AMC Metreon and the Regal at Stonestown Galleria. At the time of writing, neither theater’s Friday night and Saturday afternoon screenings have sold out. If advance sales are any indication, the theaters are set to be largely empty. Some screenings have yet to sell any tickets at all.

SFGATE checked for available tickets to five Bay Area movie theaters’ “Melania” screenings. Along with the Metreon and the Stonestown Regal, we checked available seats at the Cinemark Century 20 Daly City, the AMC Bay Street 16 in Emeryville and the Cinemark Century at Tanforan in San Bruno. For each theater, we looked at one opening night showtime and one Saturday afternoon screening. ... As expected, advance sales are slow. As of noon Tuesday, the film seems to be faring the best at the AMC Metreon, where it’s sold seven tickets for Friday’s 9 p.m. screening and four for Saturday’s 3:30 p.m.


A giant billboard for the documentary film “Melania,” about U.S. first lady Melania Trump, is seen in Madrid on Jan. 22, 2026.
AFP via Getty Images

At the Cinemark Century in San Bruno, zero seats are reserved for Friday night’s three showtimes, even as the film screens in a 102-seat auditorium. ... The Daly City theater’s Friday 10:10 p.m. screening has sold no tickets. Its 4:50 p.m. Saturday screening has sold exactly seven tickets.

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Timothy Karoff
Culture Reporter
Timothy Karoff is SFGATE’s culture reporter. He lives in San Francisco’s Mission District. You can contact him at [e-mail].