A Sudden Movie Cancellation in South Africa

A movie about Melania Trump, the former First Lady, was supposed to hit theaters in South Africa this Friday. But, out of nowhere, the local distributor, Filmfinity, decided to pull the plug. Thobashan Govindarajulu, the head of sales and marketing for Filmfinity, announced this decision but kept mum about the reasons behind it. He did say that no one pressured them into this choice. The movie, which follows Melania Trump in the lead-up to her husband's second inauguration, has been a hot topic. President Trump himself called it a "must watch. " But, despite Amazon's big investment of $40 million for the rights and millions more on marketing, theaters aren't seeing a rush for tickets. This has industry experts raising their eyebrows, wondering if the hype is worth the risk.Adding to the controversy is the film's director, Brett Ratner. This is his first Hollywood project since facing sexual misconduct allegations in 2017 during the #MeToo movement. The film's release in South Africa comes at a tense time. Relations between South Africa and the U. S. are frosty, thanks to President Trump's false claims about a genocide against the country's white minority and his harsh tariffs. Mark Sardi, the CEO of Ster-Kinekor, one of South Africa's big theater chains, shared a message from Filmfinity earlier this week. It said the movie met all local rules and was good to go. But then, suddenly, it wasn't. Sardi is just as confused as everyone else about why the film was pulled.