Some $35 million was set aside to promote Melania, nearly double the initial budget, squeezing advertisements into television screens across the country and paying top dollar for highly coveted commercial slots in the NFL playoff games. Altogether, Melania is the most expensive documentary film ever produced, with a rollout more akin to that of a mid-grade blockbuster than a nonfiction portrait. Before the first lady’s film was signed—with much gusto by the likes of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and CEO Andy Jassy—some of the most expensive documentary productions included Planet Earth, a groundbreaking portrait of the globe’s various ecosystems that cost the BBC roughly $25 million, and The World at War, a sweeping 26-part documentary series that covered hundreds of interviews and cost $17.6 million.