Why The Devil Wears Prada 2 Blew Everyone Away At The Box Office

20 years after they first graced the silver screen, journalist Andrea "Andy" Sachs (Anne Hathaway) and fashion expert/brutal Runway editor-in-chief Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep) returned to movie theaters with "The Devil Wears Prada 2." Also bringing back stars Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci, as well as director David Frankel and writer Aline Brosh McKenna, "The Devil Wears Prada 2" was a glitzy enterprise hoping to repeat the original's box office success and then some. That's a tough challenge even for an anticipated follow-up — just ask the 10 legacy sequels that flopped at the box office despite being connected to some of the most beloved movies in history.

However, "The Devil Wears Prada 2" immediately obliterated any concerns about its box office prospects over its opening weekend. Domestically alone, "Prada 2" grossed a sizeable $77 million. Even better, it earned a massive $156.6 million overseas for a $233.6 million worldwide debut. This comedy-drama about magazine editors, writers, and fashion icons is performing more like a superhero movie, and these astonishing numbers make it apparent that "The Devil Wears Prada 2" will turn a mighty profit theatrically for Disney/20th Century Studios.

What's less apparent, though, is how we got here. How did "The Devil Wears Prada 2" turn into such a lucrative summer blockbuster? Quite a bit went the right way, including the treatment of the "Devil Wears Prada" brand name in the last 20 years. Grab your finest shoes and let's explore what led to this box office success.

Thanks to 2019's Disney/Fox merger, the 2006 20th Century Fox film "The Devil Wears Prada" and its 2026 sequel are both now Disney films. That's an intriguing development on multiple levels, including the fact that the Mouse House has become infamous for not handling its most beloved brand names as well it could. Disney's made several "Star Wars" decisions that damaged the franchise forever, including diluting the saga's specialness with an avalanche of streaming shows and spin-off movies, while the biggest mistakes Marvel made after "Avengers: Endgame" also reflected the perils of Disney over-extending a franchise.

In contrast, the "Devil Wears Prada" characters haven't been seen since 2006. There haven't been countless Super Bowl commercials where Anne Hathaway and Stanley Tucci reprise their respective "Prada" roles to shill for pistachios. Nor was there a long-forgotten Hulu spin-off show following a new Runway magazine employee. Because the world hadn't been explored since the original "Devil Wears Prada," audiences actually craved visiting these characters again. Absence had made everyone's hearts grow fonder, rather than shuffling the sequel off into dust-covered obscurity.

Scarcity hasn't exactly been the name of the game when it comes to Disney and its many recognizable brand names. Embracing this approach, however, paid off big time for "The Devil Wears Prada 2," which registered as a true event rather than a rehash of prior streaming spin-offs.

It's likely "The Devil Wears Prada 2" would have ranked highly among legacy sequels at the box office no matter when or where it was released, but arriving on May 1, 2026 gave the project an extra boost thanks to how strongly the domestic box office has been performing this year. The first three months of 2026 marked the highest grossing first quarter domestic box office results since movie theaters shut down due to COVID-19 in March 2020. Better yet, this isn't just because one Marvel movie or legacy sequel has dominated multiplexes to an extreme degree. Instead, a wide swath of titles, like "Project Hail Mary," "The Super Mario Galaxy Movie," and "Hoppers," have dominated the box office.

A rising tide lifts all boats, as they say, as seen by "The Drama" exceeding $100 million worldwide despite opening the same weekend as "The Super Mario Galaxy Movie." When people go to their local movie theater, they're bound to see trailers and posters for other potentially enticing titles. This means in-theater marketing materials for "The Devil Wear Prada 2" have had lots of eyeballs on them in recent weeks. Plus, leggy crowdpleasers like "Project Hail Mary" blowing everyone away at the box office have reminded people how much they love going to the movies.

Again, "The Devil Wears Prada 2" could have excelled in any landscape. However, 2026's widespread box office success undoubtedly helped clinch and amplify its financial accomplishments.