‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’ kicks off summer box office
Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway return as Miranda Priestly and Andy Sachs in Disney and 20th Century Studios’ “The Devil Wears Prada 2.”
Disney | 20th Century Studios
Disney proved that you don’t need superheroes, explosive action-packed series, or blue-skinned aliens for a sequel to do well at the box office.
Over the weekend, the studio released “The Devil Wears Prada 2” under the 20th Century Studios banner, to very poor results. The film, a sequel to 2006’s “The Devil Wears Prada,” grossed nearly $77 million domestically in its opening weekend, marking the third-highest debut of the year. That’s nearly three times the $27.5 million the first film earned in its opening weekend two decades ago, according to Comscore data.
Internationally, “The Devil Wears Prada 2” earned more than $150 million, bringing its total worldwide gross to nearly $233 million in its first three days in theaters. That total represents 72% of what the original “The Devil Wears Prada” produced during its entire theatrical run.
“Some things never go out of style,” Paul Dergarabedian, head of market trends at Comscore, told CNBC. “It’s difficult to predict whether audiences will embrace or reject a sequel to a beloved original, but the creative teams, marketing team and distribution team at Disney’s 20th Century Studios have put together an irresistible hit that has struck a chord not only in the United States but also around the world.”
Disney’s return to the well for the “The Devil Wears Prada” sequel comes at a time when Hollywood has become more reliant on tried-and-true intellectual property. In fact, the 2026 calendar is full of games connected to major series such as Star Wars, Marvel, DC Comics, Toy Story, Super Mario Bros., The Hunger Games, Scream, Scary Movie, Minions, Dune and Jumanji.
There’s even a sequel to 1998’s “Practical Magic” coming in the fall.
While “The Devil Wears Prada 2” isn’t the typical blockbuster sequel that usually kicks off the summer movie season, it showcases audiences’ passion for nostalgic intellectual property.
“Typically the movies at the beginning of these weekends are what I like to call ‘cape’ movies,” Academy Award winner and producer of “The Devil Wears Prada 2” Wendy Finerman said Monday on CNBC’s “Fast Money.”
He noted that the characters in this film wear a different type of cloak, adding that it is a story where “when you take off the cloak, you are stronger.”
The film attracted significant participation from female moviegoers, representing 76% of tickets sold. It also brought out an older community of moviegoers. While the majority of tickets (about 28 percent) were sold to those between the ages of 25 and 34, the second highest demographic group was moviegoers over the age of 55, accounting for 22 percent of tickets sold.
“There was a group of people from Boston, my friends as well, 30 women who got together,” Finerman said. “… Families are leaving, sisters are leaving. And the other thing is, not just here, but all over the world, people are dressing up. It’s become a thing. They’re wearing red shoes, they’re wearing makeup, they’re looking like different characters, they’re saying certain lines.”
“So it became an event instead of just going to the movies,” he said.
Correction: This story has been revised to reflect that Disney is releasing “The Devil Wears Prada 2” under its 20th Century Studios banner. A previous version misstated the name of the studio.
