Prince Harry and Meghan Markle suffered a crushing blow today, as the latest film from their production company flopped at the box office on its opening weekend.
Cookie Queens, produced by the Sussexes’ company Archewell Productions, earned a measly £242,000 in its first weekend in cinemas.
The film, directed by Alysa Nahmias, tracks four young scouts through the fiercely competitive annual cookie-selling season. It was released in cinemas on August 7.
The Duchess of Sussex had done the rounds to promote the movie, which was Harry and Meghan’s executive production debut, attending question-and-answer sessions and taking selfies with fans.
Both the duke and duchess also appeared at the Sundance Film Festival in January, where they attended the movie’s premiere.
Despite this, the film entered the IMDB Box Office Mojo, a popular box office ticket tracker website, in 13th place.
This is despite being shown in 446 theatres – equating to just over £540 per screening.
In contrast, Tony, a biopic of the late celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain, raked in more at the box office than Cookie Queens, despite showing at just six theatres.
The Duchess of Sussex stepped out in Los Angeles on Tuesday evening for a special screening of Cookie Queens, a Girl Scout documentary she and Prince Harry executive produced | GETTY
Both were pipped into the top 10 by CatVideoFest 2026, which is described as “a compilation of the latest and best cat videos” from the internet.
Speaking to The Times, one industry expert said: “Not taking the good name of the world’s No1 cat video festival in vain, this is by any measure a pretty pitiful return.”
The distributor for Cookie Queens, Roadside Attractions, remained positive, despite the numbers.
“We’re encouraged by the response and believe the film has a long life ahead as it continues to reach its many audiences,” a spokesman said.
Meghan Markle sat down for a public Q&A session to promote the movie
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GETTYReviews have not been kind to the documentary. Variety described the film as “too much of a reality-show ramble”, adding: “It’s about the business of Girl Scouts making themselves into entrepreneurs. But it’s not about much else.”
The San Francisco Chronicle said the movie was “about as staged as it is sweet”.
Despite this, the film earned an astonishing 94 per cent on online review website Rotten Tomatoes.
Archewell Productions has been responsible for the Sussexes’ films and documentaries since they brokered a monster $100million deal with Netflix in 2020, following their exit from the Royal Family.
This includes the successful yet controversial Netflix documentary Harry & Meghan – the six-episode series that saw the pair accuse the Royal Family of “huge levels of unconscious bias”.
Subsequently, the company has produced With Love, Meghan, lasting two series and earning itself a Daytime Emmy nomination. However, the duchess severed ties with Netflix before a third series and took complete control of her lifestyle brand, As Ever, amid concerns the streamer was holding the business back.
In a statement concerning the split, Netflix said: “Meghan’s passion for elevating everyday moments in beautiful yet simple ways inspired the creation of the As Ever brand, and we are glad to have played a role in bringing that vision to life.
“As it was always intended, Meghan will continue growing the brand and take it into its next chapter independently, and we look forward to celebrating how she continues to bring joy to households around the world.”