Published: 11:59 BST, 11 August 2026 | Updated: 19:07 BST, 11 August 2026
The UK release date for Cookie Queens, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's latest film, has yet to be announced – but judging by the underwhelming reviews it's had in the US, British audiences may not be rushing to the cinema to see it.
The film opened in America on August 7 and follows US girl scouts selling cookies to raise money over a six-week period, an annual tradition since the First World War.
US website Variety, which was once a keen supporter of the pair, described the girlhood documentary from the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's Archewell Productions as 'too much of a reality-show ramble'.
Critic Owen Gleiberman said the film lacked emotion, writing: 'Cookie Queens is a movie about precocious American girls learning to work the system, not fight it.'
He added: 'The movie unfolds entirely in the present and never gives you even a fleeting sense of the past, of how Girl Scout Cookies rose in prominence to become the phenomenon they are today.'
The San Francisco Chronicle added the film is 'as staged as it is sweet' with critic Carla Meyer offering a frank appraisal of the regal executive producers' efforts, suggesting the film 'contains the same level of spontaneity as their other media projects. That is to say, next to none.'
Meghan, far right, with scouts, left, and director Alysa Nahmias, second from left, at a screening in July
The film opened in the US on August 8 and follows US girl scouts selling cookies to raise money over a six-week period, an annual tradition since the First World War (Pictured from left: The Duchess of Sussex, Amanda Jones and Alysa Nahmias)
Over at The Boston Globe, there was a more upbeat response; the Massachusetts newspaper said Cookie Queens delivered 'surprising honesty and more than a little bite', adding: 'It puts some hard truths in the figurative mouths of babes, sneaking them in with a spoonful of sugar rather than a sledgehammer.'
Real-life audiences liked it more than the critics, although one viewer on Rotten Tomatoes called the 91-minute film 'one of the worst documentaries I have ever seen', while another suggested buying the cinema ticket was a 'waste of money'.
The film, directed by Alysa Nahmias, fared dismally at the box office though, making less than £250,000 from showings in 446 cinemas and failing to dent the top ten releases. It is Harry and Meghan's executive producer debut.
Neither Archewell Productions nor its distributor Roadside Attractions have revealed the costs to make and screen the project.
The film received support from the Sundance Documentary Fund and aired at the Sundance Film Festival in Salt Lake City in January.
While there was also a special screening of the documentary on July 29, with Meghan posing alongside Alysa Nahmias, there appears to have been limited promotion ahead of its release.
