Brett Ratner says ‘Melania’ documentary box office success was ‘undeniable’

Brett Ratner believes the box office success of his first major documentary directing role is “undeniable”.

Ratner discussed “Melania’s” opening weekend victory in an interview with Fox News Digital, saying he felt like he “won” long before the documentary even began production.

“I mean, the approval was undeniable, but honestly, I felt like I had won right when Melania called me and asked me to direct the movie. When I saw the president for the first time and after he was hired, I told him, ‘I think that bullet that missed you was divine intervention,'” Ratner began. “He said, ‘Yeah, I guess you’re right.'”

He went on to explain that his own divine intervention occurred when the First Lady hired him to make the documentary. “It was my divine intervention. So for me, I had to pinch myself. I mean, the access they gave me, the opportunity they gave me, it was beyond my wildest dreams. So I felt like I had already won,” Ratner said.

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The Hollywood director shared how rare it is for documentaries to be released in theaters around the world. “That’s why he wanted to hire me,” Ratner began. “Because I said, I wasn’t trying to avoid work, but there were so many great documentary filmmakers… And he said, ‘But I don’t want a documentary filmmaker. I want a feature filmmaker who makes movies for the big screen.’ “That’s why I was so excited about it, because he was thinking big,” he continued. “He wasn’t just thinking: ‘Okay, we’re going to do this for streaming, we’re just going to do it for the MAGA audience. We’re going to do it for everyone.’ “I’m really excited that Melania has a bigger vision for the film than I even imagined,” he continued.

Ratner added that the film would be “a great case study” because audiences loved it, even though it was widely panned by critics.

“What we’re experiencing is people going and seeing this movie three or four times,” he said, adding that he had just gotten off the phone with the president and he told him, “‘I have friends whose wives saw this movie three or four times over the weekend.’ And I said, ‘Really?’ I said. That’s why I’m proud. I’m really, really proud.”

“Melania” exceeded expectations in its opening weekend, earning $7.1 million, galvanizing conservatives over 55, especially women. It placed third domestically and was also the biggest opening for a documentary in over a decade.

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Amazon MGM Studios paid $40 million for the rights to the film and the upcoming First Lady docuseries, also directed by Ratner, and spent $35 million promoting the film.

Ratner explained that the First Lady was given full access to what she was doing to prepare for the president’s second inauguration, and that she felt it wasn’t quite accurate to call the film a documentary for what she was doing.

“Melania” commercial in Los Angeles. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

“We’re not telling history. We’re making history,” he said, explaining no stock footage was used in the film, he stayed away from anything political and just focused on “the role of the first lady. Her idea was so brilliant because she wanted to tell a story about the role of a first lady through her eyes.”

One of the things that amazed her was that the First Lady was “holding high-level meetings” between shoots while the actors returned to their trailers and rested between scenes of the film.

He even thought they should find a second crew to film his busy schedule between shoots.

“He serves the public,” he shouted. “He takes this role very seriously because there were no breaks. Because people talk about the president sleeping, you know? I don’t see him sleeping.”

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During filming, including in disaster areas, Ratner said he saw incredible “compassion” and “humanity” from the First Lady.

“You can always tell when someone doesn’t want to be there,” she added, and in those moments she felt like the first day was “very present.”

Brett Ratner at the premiere of the movie “Melania” at the Kennedy Center on Thursday. (Taylor Hill/WireImage)

He described watching the film’s premiere at the Kennedy Center with the president and his wife last Thursday as “one of the greatest experiences of his life,” even though he has made blockbusters such as the “Rush Hour” films. “I’ll never forget this.”

“I will never have a cinema experience like this again,” he said, as I could see their faces while watching the movie.

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Ratner told Fox News Digital that Trump called the film “extraordinary,” “elegant” and “sophisticated,” explaining that the president didn’t have enough nice things to say about the film.

“He showered him with compliments, and it was sincerity. He’s proud of that,” Ratner said.

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He said Trump even asked Ratner to send the movie to some world leaders to watch.

Ratner felt that “Melania” was the right film to make a comeback, as he has explored almost every genre in his career except documentaries.

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Still, he said it was Melania’s idea to assign him to direct the film.

“I think he saw something about myself that I hadn’t thought of,” he admitted. “He saw in my work and in me that I was capable of doing this. And that’s why I have to give him full credit, because he definitely had the vision.”