‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’ Just Delivered One of 2026’s Biggest Box Office Weekends and the Numbers Are Staggering
Twenty years was clearly not too long to wait. ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’ grossed an estimated $233.6 million worldwide in its opening weekend, pulling in $77 million domestically and $156.6 million internationally, marking one of the strongest theatrical debuts of the year. The fashion world’s most feared editor-in-chief is back, and audiences turned out in a massive way to welcome her return.
The sequel posted the second-highest Motion Picture Association global opening of 2026 so far, and the opening weekend alone already represents 72% of the total box office earned by the original film, which finished its entire theatrical run at $326 million worldwide. To put that in even sharper perspective, the first ‘Devil Wears Prada’ opened to $27.5 million in North America back in 2006 and ended its run with $125 million domestically. The sequel has essentially lapped its predecessor before the popcorn has gone cold.
The film sees Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt, and Stanley Tucci all reprising their roles, with original director David Frankel and screenwriter Aline Brosh McKenna returning to the helm. The sequel follows Andy Sachs as the new features editor at Runway magazine, reuniting her with Miranda Priestly, while Emily Charlton has risen to become a senior executive at Dior. New additions including Justin Theroux, Lucy Liu, Simone Ashley, Kenneth Branagh, and B.J. Novak round out a cast that feels built for maximum intrigue.
Audience reaction has been highly positive, with the film earning 87% on Rotten Tomatoes Verified Moviegoers, a 4.5 out of 5.0 PostTrak score, and an impressive A-minus CinemaScore. Critics have been somewhat more divided, though still largely warm. On Rotten Tomatoes, 77% of 226 critics’ reviews are positive, with the site’s consensus noting that Streep still wears Miranda Priestly like a finely tailored suit in a sinfully enjoyable sequel with trenchant observations about the state of modern media.
The opening also represents the highest debut weekend ever for Meryl Streep across domestic, international, and global markets. The cultural appetite for the sequel had been building for months before release. The film’s first full trailer recorded 222 million views within its first 24 hours, which 20th Century Studios described as the most-viewed trailer in the studio’s history. Streaming viewership for the original film also surged dramatically in anticipation, further fueling the box office fire.
Principal photography took place from June to October 2025 across Manhattan and Milan, with an original story separate from Lauren Weisberger’s 2013 follow-up novel. The sequel’s production budget stood at $100 million, more than double the original’s $40 million, and Disney’s investment appears to have paid off handsomely. Even Anna Wintour, the real-world inspiration behind Miranda Priestly who famously distanced herself from the original, embraced her association this time around by posing on the cover of Vogue alongside Streep with the tagline “When Miranda met Anna.”
With audience scores this strong and an opening weekend that has already rewritten records for everyone involved, the conversation is now turning to just how high the final global total might climb. Whether you think ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’ lives up to its iconic predecessor or simply enjoys its own considerable pleasures, one thing is clear: Miranda Priestly has lost none of her power, so share your thoughts below on whether the sequel lived up to two decades of anticipation, or whether the original still reigns supreme in your eyes.
