Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s latest film about Girl Scouts is competing in a “really awful” market, which has been “so hard for many of us,” according to the film’s director.
Cookie Queens debuted at the Sundance Film Festival and received a standing ovation, as well as positive reviews from U.S. outlets, which will have been a relief to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex after a difficult response to Meghan’s Netflix series, With Love, Meghan.
However, there has not yet been any public confirmation that the film has sold to a distributor, and in fact, the International Documentary Association reported that: “A few of the nonfiction titles came to the Festival with distribution, but the vast majority of documentaries were still looking for a home—with not a single reported acquisition deal so far.”
Alysa Nahmias, Cookie Queens director and producer, told the International Documentary Association: “The market is really awful right now and it’s been so hard for so many of us. We can choose to feel powerless—or maybe we are powerless—but I do want to believe that things can change.”
Why It Matters
The couple’s first Netflix project, Harry & Meghan, released in December 2022, was a commercial success but drew backlash from fans and critics for rehashing the same story they had told Oprah Winfrey a year-and-a-half earlier in their CBS prime-time special.
Ever since then, they have not succeeded in landing a runaway commercial success as TV producers, and With Love, Meghan, in 2025, slipped out of the top 1,000 on Netflix.
In other words, they could do with a hit to demonstrate they can cut it in the competitive world of TV production.
What To Know
Cookie Queens made a high‑profile debut at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, on January 25. Meghan and Harry did not participate in the film but are named as executive producers and attended Sundance to help promote the project.
The documentary follows four Girl Scouts as they compete to become top cookie sellers under pressure to meet ambitious sales goals and make personal sacrifices to succeed.
Meghan and Harry’s appearance at Sundance sparked debate, with the New York Post suggesting they failed to sell out the show, while others noted they had an early morning slot and received a longer-than-usual standing ovation.
Cookie Queens is being sold by Submarine Entertainment and WME, according to the IDA.
What People Are Saying
Deadline’s Anthony D’Alessandro praised the couple’s standing ovation at Sundance: “That’s a big deal at Park City, Utah’s Eccles Theatre, as the crowd is usually up and down in seconds versus the six-to-twelve minute rah rahs seen at Venice and Cannes.
“The Alysa Nahmias directed documentary was greeted with rolling applause during its play; the crowd moved by four little Girl Scout’s triumphs in pre-adolescence as they tenaciously seek to surpass their cookie sales goals and deal with life, from social dances to dreams of Europe.”
The New York Post‘s Johnny Oleksinski wrote: “The Sussexes couldn’t sell out Sundance. Although Prince Harry and Meghan Markle attended the Park City, Utah, bow of the new documentary they produced, Cookie Queens, Sunday morning, there were plenty of open seats at the Eccles Theatre. As the film began, roughly 150 unoccupied spots remained in the balcony, plus some scattered chairs on the ground.
“That number ultimately tightened to about 60, as lucky wait-listers slowly filled empty places reserved for high-paying pass-holders (the coveted express badge costs $6,900), who mostly passed on the visiting royals.”
What Happens Next
If Cookie Queens is indeed still without a distributor, then the Sussexes will be hoping to find a glimmer of light in the difficult market that Nahmias described.
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