Meghan Markle and Prince Harry‘s newest film project, “Cookie Queens,” crumbled at the box office over the weekend as the latest Hollywood misstep for the runaway royals.

The documentary — which marked the Montecito duo’s theatrical feature debut as executive producers — was left with crumbs, grabbing just $735 per screen and opening at No. 15, according to Boxoffice Pro. That was five spots behind “CatVideoFest 2026,” a 70-minute theatrical compilation of the internet’s best cat videos.

Other indie films that opened ahead of “Cookie Queens” included “Tony” — the Anthony Bourdain biopic from A24 that debuted on just six screens — and two Indian imports, “DC” and “Korean Kanakaraju.”

(Another popular tracking site, IMDb’s Box Office Mojo, had “Cookie Queens” at No. 13, but didn’t have numbers reported for the two Indian films.) 

Markle and Harry’s Archewell Productions hasn’t found traction with audiences since a tell-all docuseries about their exit from the royal family first launched a lucrative deal with Netflix. 

“Cookie Queens” arrived in theaters with a feel-good premise and critical raves. The Alysa Nahmias-helmed documentary entered the weekend with an impressive 94% rating on RottenTomatoes.

But the box-office numbers were half-baked at best, with the film about one intense Girl Scout Cookie season earning just $327,797 from 446 screens.

(Compare that to the 2003 doc “Spellbound,” which was tonally similar and revolved around eight kids vying for the National Spelling Bee title. That film had a per-screen average of $17,508 in its opening weekend en route to a $7,457,710 haul during its full run over two decades ago.) 

Jeff Bock, senior media analyst at Exhibitor Relations, tells P6H that indie distributor Roadside Attractions made a head-scratching decision to release “Cookie Queens” during the summer corridor. 

“The documentary probably should have been released at the height of Girl Scout cookie season, when the cookies, and the girls selling them, are part of the national conversation,” Bock says. “For a small documentary, timing is marketing. It missed the very window that could have made it feel relevant and turned curiosity into ticket sales. Guess that’s the way the cookie crumbles.” 

Archewell hasn’t struck gold with audiences since the banner’s first and only hit, the six-episode “Harry & Meghan” in 2023. Its Netflix deal is limping along after the couple originally negotiated a $100 million pact in 2020. Page Six previously reported that they’ve released multiple projects under the lucrative contract, but a “Polo” doc and the highly publicized series, “With Love, Meghan,” failed to connect.

“With Love, Meghan,” which was used to promote Markle’s As Ever goods, was not picked up by Netflix for a third season amid falling ratings. Netflix also backed out of Markle’s As Ever brand earlier this year and segued to a looser first look deal with the duo last summer.

In March, Variety wrote a blistering account of the state of the deal, noting that “the Sussexes’ perceived pattern of selling repackaged versions of the same story about their exit from royal life has exhausted Netflix.”

The couple’s $25 million Spotify deal was also disastrous. They “mutually agreed to part ways” with Spotify in 2023 after their $25 million deal with the company yielded just one 12-episode season of Markle’s podcast, “Archetypes.”

Still, those who worked with Markle on “Cookie Queens” said it was a pretty sweet recipe. “I have to say I really do like her,” says one source involved with the doc. “I haven’t met Harry, but she has been good to work with.”

“Cookie Queens,” which made a buzzy debut at Sundance in January, was hoped to be the project that could reverse the curse for the former “Suits” star.

The Hollywood Reporter called it “an eminently accessible and easily meme-able serving of American-girl cuteness, featuring a diverse cast of well-chosen young women.” 

At Sundance this year, a source told us of the film and the Sussexes’ involvement: “Clearly there’s a lot riding on this documentary. Honestly, it feels like this is their last chance at redemption and that this whole Hollywood experiment hangs in the balance.”

We have reached out to the couple’s rep.