The Lake Theater & Cafe in Lake Oswego, a suburb of Portland, Oregon, will no longer be showing “Melania,” an Amazon Studios documentary about first lady Melania Trump, after Amazon pulled the film from screenings.
The move was in response to marquee messages at theaters promoting the film such as “Is Melania Wearing Prada? Find out on Friday!” And, quoting Sun Tzu, “To defeat your enemy, you must know your enemy. Melania.”
“Melania,” directed by Brett Ratner, depicts the 20 days leading up to President Donald Trump’s second inauguration. Amazon purchased the rights to produce and distribute the film in 2025 for $40 million.
Manager Jordan Perry said the theater received a call from Amazon asking them to cancel the movie. “The studio wasn’t happy or didn’t appreciate my idea of promoting their movie to the public,” Perry told The Oregonian. A source familiar with the film confirmed that the title had indeed been withdrawn.
The marquee was then changed to read, “We got a call from Amazon. The marquee has pissed them off. All ‘Melania’ screenings have been canceled. Show your support at Whole Foods instead. Join Amazon Prime and get free 2-day shipping.”
Perry said the theater has also received emails and messages from local patrons questioning why the film is being shown in the first place. In a blog post, he explained that the reservation for “Melania” was not meant to be a political statement, but rather a humorous choice to coincide with the film’s slow season. “Wouldn’t it be exponentially weirder and even more interesting to show ‘Melania’ here in a decidedly anti-establishment and sometimes problematic neighborhood movie theater?” Perry wrote.
Amazon Studios declined to comment.
