Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s first film beaten by compilation of world’s best cat videos at US box office

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – JULY 28: Jessica Radloff, Alysa Nahmias and Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex seen at a Special Screening Of Roadside Attractions’ “Cookie Queens” at AMC The Grove 14 on July 28, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Eric Charbonneau/Roadside Attractions via Getty Images) Credit: Getty PRINCE Harry and Meghan Markle’s first film has been beaten by a compilation of the world’s best cat videos at the US box office. The Sussexes latest Hollywood project, Cookie Queens, flopped at the box office, falling embarrassingly short on its opening weekend. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s first film has flopped at the US box office Credit: Getty Cookie Queens failed to crack the top 10 releases in the US this weekend Credit: YouTube The coming-of-age story about Girl Scouts selling their cookies, could barely muster £250,000 from its release in 446 cinemas across the US. Each screening of the movie earned around £500 according to trust movie numbers site, Box Office Mojo. Sign up for the Royals newsletter Thank you! But it failed to crack the top 10 for this weekend’s Stateside releases, coming in at number 13 in the movie charts. To make things worse, it was beaten by cinema screenings of “the world’s #1 cat video festival” which was also shown in US movie theatres. Embarrassingly, the film was beaten by a compilation of the world’s best cat videos Credit: Unknown The Sussexes first film failed to crack the top ten of releases Credit: Shutterstock Editorial The compilation of cat videos, compiled from submissions, animations, music videos and internet powerhouses earned £421,334. One industry source told The Times: “Not taking the good name of the world’s No. 1 cat video festival in vain, this is by any measure a pretty pitiful return.” But distributor, Roadside Attractions, held a more positive view saying they were “encouraged by the response”. But the film has seen mixed reviews with Hollywood magazine, Variety, labelling it as “too much of a reality-show ramble”. Most read in Royals The Sussexes produced the 91 minute flick under their Archewell Productions banner, which was founded in 2020. They attended the world premiere at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival in Salt Lake City on January 25 – but since then, the project saw little promotion. There, Meghan delivered a speech in support of the project, directed by Alysa Nahmias, which she called a “powerful and meaningful depiction of something that is an American tradition”. “It is now put through this lens from the incredible creative vision of Alysa to show something modernised about the girlhood experience and all the layers of complexity that come with that. “So yes, it’s cute, and yes, these young ladies are fantastic and adorable, but they are also layered beautiful girls who are about to become very strong leaders and young women. So thank you for supporting that.” In July, Meghan was snapped attending a special screening of Cookie Queens in California. The Duchess at a special screening of Cookie Queens last month Credit: Getty The 91 minute flick was produced under the Sussexes’ Archewell Productions banner Credit: Getty Distributor Roadside Attractions and Archewell have not released the production costs to make and screen the project. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex founded their media production company in 2020, which has an ongoing partnership with Netflix. Archewell Productions produced the couple’s documentary series Harry & Meghan in 2022, followed by Meghan’s lifestyle series With Love, Meghan in 2025. The latter – a cookie and lifestyle series launched last year – was last month nominated for an Emmy award despite “exhausted chiefs axing it over scathing reviews”. Critics took to social media to slam the “joke” nomination and ripped into her “flop” lifestyle show. However, despite mixed reviews from critics and fans, the show was renewed for a second run last August. The Sussexes will find out if they are Emmy winners at a ceremony at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles in October. Comment now