What movie theaters do when no one buys a ticket as Melania's new film shows underwhelming bookings

Melania Trump's Amazon film has seen some movie theaters with 'not a single ticket sold' just days ahead of its release.

Of all the film releases for 2026, you may not've been expecting Melania Trump to be on the list.

Although, whether her Amazon MGM Studios documentary film is the top of anybody's list of things to see at the movie theater remains to be seen, with one X user revealing the rows of empty seats on display when they went to have a look at tickets sold at one theater for the First Lady of the United States' upcoming release, titled - you guessed it - MELANIA.

The movie is set to open in 'at least 1,400 theaters nationwide and in more than 27 countries' this weekend (January 30), Puck News reports.

However, while Donald Trump has claimed the film is 'selling out, FAST,' taking to X on January 27, one social media user revealed: "Not a single ticket sold for the opening night 9:55pm showing of Melania at the busiest movie theater in the metro-Jacksonville area."

Another shared a similar screenshot showing no tickets have yet been sold in another theater showcasing the film. The caption reads: "Question for movie people: If nobody buys a ticket for a screening, do they still play the movie."

But what do theaters do if not a single soul buys a ticket to a film?

Well, one X user responded: "Yes we let it play, UNLESS we can replace it with something that is selling.

"For example - SpongeBob sells out and clearly is in high demand, after getting approval we can swap out.

"However, if a studio mandated that the film has a set schedule (specifically opening weekend), it will ride."

And the conversation spilled over onto Reddit too, former theater workers taking to r/NoStupidQuestions to weigh in.

One said: "When I worked at a theater they would play any movie that was on in the middle of the day but if it was the end of the night they'd let it go 15 minutes then shut er down. They would sometimes turn the lamp off on the projector to save teh bulb until someoen called up to the projectionist that the show was going on."

"i worked at a cinema and what they did was start the movie and let it play for twenty minutes, so if anyone showed up to buy last-minute tickets they would still be able to see it. if no one came, they shut it off. on a related note, those were my favorite auditoriums to clean," another added.

Either way, if no one buys tickets to go and see Melania, Amazon certainly won't be best pleased.

The company is reported as having coughed up a staggering $40 million for the documentary, alongside another alleged $35 million to get it pushed out to the extra 27 countries, alongside a nice premiere at the Kennedy Center.

Bet Netflix and Paramount Pictures are feeling pretty smug right now.

UNILAD contacted AMC and Regal for comment.

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