The Duchess of Sussex has suffered another blow to her Hollywood career as her latest documentary, 'Cookie Queens', has received a lacklustre response at the box office. The film, which follows four American Girl Scouts competing to become the top cookie seller, was released in theatres on August 7 after debuting at the Sundance Film Festival in January.
Box Office Struggles
According to reports, the documentary earned just £500 per cinema screening and was outperformed by 'CatVideoFest 2026', which took £421,334 despite being shown on 191 fewer screens. The film, produced by Archewell Productions and directed by Alysa Nahmias, has also faced negative reviews from critics and viewers, with one describing it as "staged as it is sweet" and a Variety reviewer calling it "too much of a reality-show ramble".
PR Expert Weighs In
PR professional Rebecca May told The Daily Mail that Meghan's public perception is her biggest downfall. May said: "Meghan doesn't have a visibility problem... but she does have a perception problem. If you are trying to build something wholesome, warm and aspirational, but there is still so much noise and division around your personal brand, it is difficult for people to separate the two."
May added: "Hollywood is used to dealing with high-profile personalities, but there comes a point where too much noise around someone becomes a brand risk. You don't want the person attached to a project constantly becoming a bigger story than the project itself. This can run the risk of the person becoming the story and the project losing control of its own narrative."
Previous Ventures
This latest setback follows the end of Meghan's partnership with Netflix for her lifestyle brand As Ever, which had aired for two series and a holiday special. The couple are also producing a film adaptation of the novel 'The Wedding Date' by Jasmine Guillory, with screenwriter Tracy Oliver attached. Their previous Spotify deal ended in 2023 after one series of their podcast 'Archetypes', with an executive later branding them "grifters".
