'Meghan Markle certainly doesn't have commercial pull she has so desired'

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's future standing in Hollywood may depend less on 'announcements and more on execution'

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Published August 15, 2026
Meghan’s "Cookie Queens" earned approximately $354,000 from 446 theaters.

A royal expert believes that Meghan Markle certainly doesn’t have the ‘commercial pull she has so desired.’

Royal expert Hilary Fordwich told this to Fox News Digital after Meghan’s "Cookie Queens" earned approximately $354,000 from 446 theaters.

She said the performance raises questions about Meghan and Harry’s ability to attract audiences when their projects are not centered on the royal family.

"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," Fordwich tells the outlet.

The expert went on saying, "Meghan certainly doesn’t have the commercial pull she has so desired.”

Fordwich argued the California-based royal couple now face increased pressure to demonstrate they can produce a genuine mainstream hit.

Another royal expert Kinsey Schofield advised the couple that their future standing in Hollywood may depend less on announcements and more on execution.

When Harry and Meghan first arrived in California, “they were the story”, the expert said and adds "Hollywood was essentially buying access to two people who had just walked away from the Royal Family, and the curiosity surrounding them was enormous."

"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?"

Mukhtar Ahmed Junejo
Mukhtar Ahmed Junejo is the Deputy News Editor at The News International (Digital) with over 10 years of experience. He specialises in real-time reporting on the British Royal Family and analyses monarchy transitions, internal dynamics, and global media narratives. He also covers high-profile celebrity news and international human-interest stories.
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