Thousands of active-duty military personnel may have been “pressured” into seeing the Melania documentary at cinemas around the country, a watchdog has warned.

The $75 million Amazon film opened last week to $7 million at the box office—despite universally terrible reviews.

According to the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, those numbers have been artificially inflated by pressure from MAGA-aligned officers leaning on their troops to buy tickets.

“People are scared,” Mikey Weinstein, president and founder of the MRFF, said. Weinstein said he has received letters from members of the U.S. military at eight facilities worldwide, complaining that their superiors encouraged or pressured them to see the film.

“Nobody that I know wanted to go except for those that did not want to get jacked up by our unit commander for not attending,” one of those members told Weinstein in a letter seen by journalist Jonathan Larsen.

  • AquaTofana@lemmy.world
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    2 hours ago

    Thankfully this shit hasn’t made it to my installation. I’m guessing these eight bases “world-wide” have to be targeting the USMC.

    The Marines get the absolute bottom of the barrel treatment even as far military members go.

  • Whostosay@sh.itjust.works
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    3 hours ago

    Lol thats not a $75M film. That’s an $82M film because that 7 million in sales was also spent by the same people who made it.

  • Tempus Fugit@lemmy.world
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    4 hours ago

    I thought it was wild when my CO said Fox News was the only true news station. If he had told me I had to go watch some foreigner butcher English for an hour and a half I’d have lost my shit. I’d for sure be reporting his ass to the battalion or brigade commander. That shit is inexcusable.

  • danc4498@lemmy.world
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    6 hours ago

    “Against their will” sounds funny in context. I was forced to do plenty of things in the military against my will. Most dealing with PowerPoint presentations.

    • themeatbridge@lemmy.world
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      5 hours ago

      Isn’t the point of joining the military is to surrender free will? That’s one of the many reasons I didn’t want to.

  • Rentlar@lemmy.ca
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    6 hours ago

    Private, don’t worry, I won’t make you bomb that dinghy in the Caribbean Sea for no reason. Instead you can watch Melania and prepare me a film review report by next week.

  • Diplomjodler@lemmy.world
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    5 hours ago

    “I’m fine with murdering people in the name of the oligarchy but I draw the line at watching a boring movie!”