Which demographics accounted for the bulk of the Melania film's opening‑week ticket sales and how were those figures reported?
Executive summary
The opening‑weekend audience for Melania skewed heavily toward older women: multiple industry reports put the share of female attendees around 72% and the share aged 55+ between about 72% and 78%, with one outlet adding that roughly three‑quarters of the audience was white (75%) [1] [2] [3] [4]. Those demographic figures were released through a mix of studio‑provided numbers (Amazon MGM), box‑office analytics firms (Comscore, EntTelligence, Screen Engine/PostTrak) and media summaries — and were reported with different emphases and occasional contradictions across outlets [1] [5] [2] [3].
1. Demographic headline: older women dominated the audience
The rough consensus in the trade press and national outlets is that the movie’s theatrical turnout was concentrated among older women: CNBC, Variety, Deadline, and Comscore/EntTelligence data each reported that roughly seven in ten ticket buyers were female and a similar proportion were above middle age — commonly reported as 72% female and about 72% aged 55+, with some outlets citing 78% aged 55+ or 83% over 45 depending on the source cited [6] [1] [2] [3] [4].
2. Additional demographic details and regional patterns
Beyond sex and age, a few outlets reported racial and political breakdowns — Axios summarized that about 75% of the opening‑weekend audience was white, and other sources and compilations (including Wikipedia’s entry synthesizing reports) offered more granular claims such as 49% identifying as Republicans and 2% as Democrats for opening‑day audiences, though those latter figures are not uniformly reported across primary trade press pieces [3] [7]. Several reports also noted that turnout was unusually strong in smaller markets and rural theaters — EntTelligence and the New York Times highlighted that theaters in less populated areas contributed a far higher share of receipts than typical releases (about 46% from rural theaters in one report) [5] [2].
3. How the numbers were generated and shared — studios, analytics firms, and press
The demographic statistics were disclosed through a patchwork of channels: Amazon MGM provided some audience breakdowns directly to outlets (Variety cites Amazon MGM’s numbers) while box‑office analytics firms such as Comscore, EntTelligence and Screen Engine/PostTrak supplied turnout and exit‑poll style data quoted across reports; major news outlets then framed and sometimes combined those figures when announcing the film’s ~$7 million opening weekend [1] [5] [2] [8]. The $7.0–7.04 million gross appears as a studio/industry estimate repeated across AP, CNBC, Business Insider and other outlets, though Fox at one point cited an $8 million projection reported by The Reporter [9] [6] [8] [4].
4. Reporting disparities, context and potential motivations to amplify certain angles
Coverage diverged on precise percentages and totals: some outlets reported 72% of buyers were female and 72% over 55 (Comscore/Screen Engine numbers), others cited 78% 55+ or emphasized 83% over 45 (Fox, Variety, The Reporter/Amazon MGM) [2] [4] [1]. Those discrepancies flow from different sampling windows, exit‑poll methodologies, and whether figures were for “opening day” versus the whole weekend — and from reliance on studio‑provided versus independent analytics. Reporting also carried implicit agendas: pieces stressing the film’s “faith‑based” or rural turnout and social‑media images of empty auditoriums served to undercut claims of broad popularity, while studio statements and pro‑film outlets framed the same demographics as a strong, politically meaningful base — context that readers should weigh [2] [10] [3].
5. Caveats and what the available sources do not settle
The public record is limited to industry estimates and studio statements rather than full raw exit‑poll datasets; therefore precise splits (for example the 49% Republican / 2% Democrat ratio reported in some compilations) cannot be independently verified from the sources provided here, and international performance varied sharply (Australia posted very weak per‑screen returns) [7] [11]. Financial context is clear: Amazon’s outlay for acquisition and marketing — widely reported at roughly $75 million combined — means that even a strong documentary opening still left theatrical economics unfavourable absent long‑tail streaming or ancillary returns [6] [5].