Amazon MGM Studios Eyes Major Comeback for Trump-Era Franchise After Melania Trump Doc Falls Short

After Melania Trump’s documentary of the same name underperformed at the box office, its producer, Jeff Bezos of Amazon MGM Studios, might have found another way to strengthen the Trump brand.

The production company funded the project with a $75 million budget. However, the film brought in $16 million at the box office, after which it was released on the Amazon Prime Video streaming service.

Reports say Melania received 70% of the $40 million Amazon paid for the rights to the documentary. Apart from this, around $35 million was spent on the marketing of the movie.

Now, according to the report in The Wall Street Journal, Amazon MGM Studios is planning a reboot of Donald Trump’s reality TV show, The Apprentice, which had made him a household name and had also played a major role in boosting his political career.

The show’s format had contestants participate in weekly business-oriented tasks consisting of marketing, sales, and negotiations, where they were divided into teams. While the winning team members went ahead in the show, the losing team members were at risk of elimination. Trump donned the host’s cap on the show.

The Apprentice reportedly ran in various formats on NBC between 2004 and 2017, which also included a celebrity spin-off. However, the current President was fired by the network after 14 seasons in August 2015, after the comments he had made about Mexican immigrants following his announcement of running for President.

Regarding the reported reboot being planned by Jeff Bezos’ Amazon MGM Studios, the makers might be thinking of considering Donald Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., as the possible host for the reboot.

However, the network is yet to approach the Trump clan with the idea. Interestingly, Trump Jr. was an almost regular guest, mentor, and judge on the show between 2006 and 2015. His sister, Ivanka Trump, was also seen as a guest on the regular and celebrity versions of the show.

Reportedly, Amazon obtained the rights to The Apprentice as part of its $8.5 billion acquisition of MGM, which concluded in March 2022. MGM owned Mark Burnett’s production company, which bankrolled the reality TV show.

A copy of the President’s financial disclosures that was viewed by The Hollywood Reporter revealed that the president continues to earn six-figure royalties from The Apprentice airing on the streaming platform and in syndication.

The publication also revealed that the 2024 royalties were between $100,000 and $1,000,000. The reports further suggest that The Apprentice reboot would be streamed on Amazon Prime Video. Reportedly, Amazon MGM Studios head Mike Hopkins began discussing the concept with other executives after Donald Trump returned to office for a second term.

A spokesperson of the production company revealed to the publication, “Since our acquisition of MGM, we have had preliminary internal discussions about what’s next for The Apprentice as a property.”

However, despite this report, the show is still in the planning stage and is not in any active development. The makers have also not roped in any host for the show yet.