When Prince Harry and Meghan Markle rolled through Park City for the premiere of their documentary “Cookie Queens” over the weekend, people close to them noted a change in their demeanor — a mood one source described as ‘somber.’
“They were very guarded. All Harry wanted to talk about was his Daily Mail trial,” said a source friendly with the Sussexes who ran into them the day of the premiere.
It was only a few years ago that Harry and Meghan would’ve blown through Park City, like, well, royalty. For years they were riding high with a lucrative overall deal at Netflix and Ted Sarandos on speed dial. They also had the backing of a team of development executives led by Ben Browning.
But after a string of disappointing projects, their Netflix deal was downgraded to a first-look deal and Browning, like most Archewell executives, has since moved on — leaving a skeleton crew led by Chanel Pysnik who was on the ground in Sundance, we hear.
Although one source noted that Pysnik, like many film people at this year’s festival, was quietly poking around for job opportunities. “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,” this same source told P6H.
And redemption they may have found!
We hear that their film, “Cookie Queens,” has apparently spawned a high-altitude bake-off with multiple buyers including Netflix and HBO circling the film that tracks one drama-filled Girl Scout Cookie season. Turns out there are some real stakes surrounding those addictive Thin Mints, which pull in around $800 million in business each year. And the star wattage gleamed from being involved with the Sussexes is still worth a few million or two.
(Top sellers Submarine and WME are fielding the bids on “Cookie Queens.”)
Prince Harry, who is an executive producer on the project, was on hand for the Eccles Theatre premiere and after party which in keeping with the theme, was a non-alcoholic affair with mocktails only. (What it lacked in booze, the party’s organizers made up for in Girl Scout treats — and a number of industry execs were spotted sneaking whole boxes of Thin Mints and Trefoils under their coats as they exited. No one called security.)
“Cookie Queens” isn’t the only project that’s generating interest among buyers, which is a welcome sign to festival organizers who over the past few years have been contending with a deeply depressed indie film landscape.
A number of agents we spoke to are feeling surprisingly upbeat and holding their collective breaths that this year’s festival might prove to be a seller’s market after all.
Olivia Wilde’s “The Invite” has generated the most buzz after its Saturday world premiere. After all, it is about a struggling couple who get invited to their neighbor’s orgy.
According to sources up to eight buyers were vying for the rights to distribute the film, including Netflix. (Several execs say they’re hoping this film plays more like Wilde’s directorial debut “Booksmart” — a critical and commercial hit — and less like “Don’t Worry Darling,” which was plagued by on-set drama with Wilde feuding with star Florence Pugh.)
UTA and FilmNation are co-repping the film, which is expected to fetch more than $20 million. Focus Features, A24, Netflix, Searchlight and Neon have all expressed interest in the title, with Netflix putting forward the biggest offer. But sources tell Page Six Hollywood that a theatrical release is key to the filmmakers, which could disqualify the streamer from the conversation.
The film, which stars Wilde and Seth Rogen, is also the first high-profile producing effort from Megan Ellison and her Annapurna production company in four years. Megan has been the “forgotten” Ellison recently, since her brother David bought Paramount and he and their dad Larry are wrestling Netflix for control of Warner Bros.
Last year, the fest famously neglected to produce any nail-biting, competitive acquisition dealmaking that had once been a hallmark of the heavy industry presence in Park City.
If anyone might be wistful about the end of Sundance as we know it, it would be veteran independent film producer David Permut. The 71-year-old has attended almost every Sundance Film Festival since 1991. “If it wasn’t for Sundance, I’d be on a street corner with a cup begging for change,” Permut tells P6H. This year has special relevance to Permut, not just because it’s the last one in Park City but also because he co-produced the “The Invite,” which also stars Edward Norton and Penelope Cruz.
“There’s a sentimentality to it because we’ve all been coming here for decades. I can tell you exactly where I was when I saw these iconic movies for the first time, but the bottom line is what’s on the screen is what counts. As long as it’s a great film that can be seen anywhere,” he says, although he declined to comment on the status of the bidding war.
Heading into the festival some had hoped that a handful of new distributors — like Row K Entertainment, Teddy Schwarzman’s Black Bear and Warner Bros.’ new film label, which is being headed up by former Neon execs Christian Parkes, Jason Wald and Spencer Collantes — might pick up some of the recent sales slack.
Others aren’t convinced.
“It’s bittersweet, especially with the recent passing of [Robert] Redford who was this amazing actor who created this space that changed the culture and world and never got any monetary value from it,” says a veteran buyer who has been attending Sundance for over two decades. This buyer called the 2026 lineup “a year of discovery,” which in industry jargon translates to ‘no obvious sure bet.’ “No one is talking about that one title that’s a perfect fit that will almost certainly make money or at the very least you could potentially sell to your board or your CEO. We are hoping the programmers made the right bets on the next generation.”
So, Meghan and Harry may be the beneficiaries of the otherwise ho-hum cookie plate.
