Humiliation: Harry and Meghan's Movie Defeated by Cat Video Compilation ... Despite Opening in Almost 2x as Many Theaters
Instead of the pixie dust that surrounded their every stab in the royal family’s back, the latest flop from Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, leaves them covered in kitty-litter dust.
Over the weekend, the couple’s Archewell Productions released “Cookie Queens,” a documentary about the trials and tribulations of four Girl Scouts selling cookies, according to the New York Post.
“Cookie Queens” earned approximately $354,000 from 446 theaters, according to box-office figures. That was nowhere near as much as “CatVideoFest 2026” — a compilation of popular internet cat videos. The cat flick earned about $569,000 on 255 screens.
“The extremely underwhelming box office is a clear indication that, yet again, unless they are bashing the royals and sharing inside stories, secrets and betraying the privacy of the family, there isn’t much they have that is at all in demand nor popular,” Hilary Fordwich, an expert on the British royal family, said.
“Meghan certainly doesn’t have the commercial pull she has so desired,” she said
Royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams said that aside from the couple’s sensational backstabbing of the royal family, Harry and Meghan have little to attract anyone.
“The world knows who they are, but isn’t curious enough to tune in and watch Meghan’s ghastly series ‘With Love, Meghan,’ their series on the Invictus Games, ‘Polo’ or, it seems, ‘Cookie Queens.’ Reports vary on the exact level of success or failure of Meghan’s brand As Ever, but the jam, flower sprinkles and scented candles have become a bit of a joke.”
“So it’s all about buzz and nothing else, save their link with real royalty,” Fitzwilliams said.
Royal commentator Kinsey Schofield said the couple’s fizz has faded.
“There was a period when simply attaching their names to something guaranteed enormous curiosity. I’m not convinced that’s true anymore.”
“And there’s no getting around the optics of finishing five places behind a 70-minute compilation of internet cat videos. Hollywood can forgive a lot, but being beaten by ‘CatVideoFest’ is the sort of indignity that writes its own punchline,” Schofield said.
“Meghan certainly has enormous name recognition, but I think at this stage it’s fair to ask how much of that is fame and how much is infamy,” she said. “There’s a significant difference commercially.”
“People may click on a Meghan Markle headline because they’re fascinated by her or irritated by her. That doesn’t mean they’re going to buy a movie ticket because her name is attached to the project. ‘Cookie Queens’ gives us another interesting data point on that distinction.”
Schofield said the couple caused a buzz after leaving the royal family, but “six years later, the novelty has diminished. The questions are much more conventional now: What can you produce? What can you sell? Can you build an audience around something that isn’t royal drama?”
Schofield told Page Six it may be time for Harry and Meghan to stop generating headlines and do something right.
“I would tell them to disappear professionally for a little while, dramatically reduce the number of announcements, and identify one genuinely compelling project with experienced people around them who know how to execute it,” she said.
“Reputation recovery is possible, but I don’t think it comes from another rebrand or another glossy publicity campaign. I would recommend the opposite. Less talking, fewer announcements and more execution. Success is one of the most effective reputation-management strategies in Hollywood. Make something undeniable, and suddenly the conversation changes.”
“They need to stop treating their celebrity as the product and start creating products strong enough to survive without their celebrity,” she said “There are only so many times you can tell audiences why you left the royal family.”
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