Are Boston viewers being paid to watch the melania movie
Executive summary
A Boston Craigslist posting offering $50 plus a free ticket to sit through Melania and remain for the entire film did circulate and was widely shared online, and local reporting confirms the ad existed and was later suspended; however, there is no public, verifiable evidence that Amazon MGM Studios, the film’s distributors, or the filmmakers paid Boston viewers to attend screenings [1] [2]. Independent reporting shows the posting appears to be an isolated, third‑party effort — possibly trolling or a partisan boost — rather than an official attendance‑buying campaign tied to the studio [2] [1].
1. The simple fact: a Craigslist ad in Boston offering $50 did appear
Multiple outlets reported a Craigslist listing in the Boston area that explicitly offered free tickets and $50 “per seat occupied” provided viewers stayed for the entire runtime, and that posting was widely circulated on social media before Craigslist marked it “held for review” or suspended it [1] [2]. Boston Globe coverage documented the precise language of the ad and framed it amid broader scrutiny of the film’s sparse turnout, and Times Now likewise reported the Boston post as a verified local listing that was later suspended [1] [2].
2. What the reporting does not show: no proven link to Amazon or the filmmakers
Journalists who examined the ad found no evidence tying the offer to Amazon MGM Studios, director Brett Ratner, or any official distributor; both Times Now and the Boston Globe note the absence of a corporate or production attribution and caution that the posting appears unrelated to the studio [2] [1]. Industry coverage of Melania’s release has focused on Amazon’s multi‑million dollar acquisition and marketing outlay, but that spending — reported separately — is distinct from a lone Craigslist listing and has not been presented by any outlet as the source of the $50 offer [3] [4].
3. Context: why the ad gained attention and why people suspected paid attendance
The ad landed in a media ecosystem already recording tepid box office interest — outlets documented soft ticket sales in the U.S. and U.K., single‑digit purchases for some premiere shows, and trade projections that opening receipts would be modest — which made any suggestion of paid audiences plausible and newsworthy [3] [5] [6]. President Trump’s public claims that the film was “selling out, FAST!” intensified scrutiny and encouraged journalists to chase down whether supporters or campaign operatives were artificially inflating attendance numbers; that scrutiny led to reporting on the Boston Craigslist posting but did not turn up studio involvement [6] [1].
4. Plausible explanations and limits of available evidence
Given the available reporting, the likeliest explanations are that an individual or group unaffiliated with Amazon posted the ad — as a stunt, partisan turnout effort, or even trolling — and that some people online amplified it as proof of a choreographed attendance campaign; however, current sources do not confirm whether anyone was actually paid, who posted the ad, or whether anyone who responded was reimbursed [2] [1]. Journalistic accounts explicitly note the absence of proof connecting the offer to the studio and warn against assuming studio coordination from a single Craigslist listing [2].
5. Bottom line — cautious answer to the question asked
Boston viewers were offered $50 in at least one publicly visible Craigslist posting to attend Melania screenings, and that posting was real enough to be reported and then suspended; but there is no verified evidence that Amazon, the filmmakers, or any named official behind the movie paid Boston audiences to watch it, and reporting instead treats the notice as an isolated, unaffiliated item amid broader concerns about weak box office demand [1] [2] [3]. Absent direct documentation — receipts, confirmations from payers, or an admission from organizers — the responsible conclusion is that Boston viewers were offered money via a third‑party ad, not demonstrably paid by the film’s distributor.