Devil Wears Prada 2 opens $77M domestic
- Disney and 20th Century’s The Devil Wears Prada 2 opened to about $77 million in North America this weekend, beating pre-release tracking and taking No. 1. - Worldwide, the sequel reached roughly $233.6 million, including $156.6 million overseas — one of 2026’s biggest global starts and a rare female-led launch. - The bigger signal is audience mix: women turned out like this was an event, giving theaters a summer hit outside superheroes.
Box office stories usually start with capes, sequels for teenage boys, or some giant four-quadrant cartoon. This one didn’t. The Devil Wears Prada 2 walked in with a mostly female audience, a 20-year-old brand, and a lot of skepticism about whether nostalgia could still open big in theaters. Then it posted about $77 million domestic and roughly $233.6 million worldwide in its first weekend. (deadline.com) ### Why is this opening a big deal? Because it wasn’t supposed to be the obvious shape of a summer blockbuster. Preweekend tracking had the movie in the mid-$60 millions domestically, and even bullish forecasts were treating $75 million as the high end. It landed above that range, opening in 4,150 theaters and averaging about $18,500 per location for the weekend. (deadline.com) ### What exactly did it earn? The domestic opening came in at $76.7 million by Sunday estimates, built from about $32.9 million Friday, $25.1 million Saturday, and $18.7 million Sunday. Overseas, it added about $156.6 million, pushing the global debut to $233.6 million. That made it the No. 1 domestic release of the weekend and one of the biggest worldwide launches of the year so far. (the-numbers.com) ### Why did this one connect? Basically, it hit a crowd Hollywood often underserves in summer. The original movie came out in 2006, so the sequel had a built-in millennial audience that now has more spending power and actual theater-going habits. But nostalgia alone doesn’t open a movie this big — the turnout suggests Disney sold it as a real event, not just a reunion. Deadline’s weekend reporting fram(the-numbers.com)ers because female-led event openings at this scale are still less common than franchise action launches. (deadline.com) ### Does the original movie help explain this? Yes — but mostly as a floor, not the ceiling. The first Devil Wears Prada opened to $27.5 million in 2006 and finished with $124.7 million domestic. So the sequel’s opening weekend alone is already far above the original’s start and more than half of its entire North American run. That tells you this wasn’t just fans checking in. It played like a bigger cultural moment than the first film’s debut ever was. (the-numbers.com) ### What does this mean for the summer box office? It means the summer slate looks less one-note. Last weekend, Lionsgate’s Michael opened huge, and this weekend Disney followed with another strong No. 1. So theaters suddenly have back-to-back hits from very different audience lanes — music-biopic momentum on one side, fashion-comedy-drama nostalgia on the other. That kind of spread is healthier than r(the-numbers.com)the-numbers.com) ### Is the international number the real surprise? Probably. The domestic debut was strong, but the offshore start is what turned a hit into a statement. At $156.6 million overseas, the movie didn’t just work in North America — it traveled. That matters because fashion, status, workplace ambition, and star power can play globally in ways some U.S.-centric comedies can’t. The sequel looked less like a n(the-numbers.com)tudio launch. (deadline.com) ### So what’s the actual takeaway? The lesson isn’t “make more old sequels.” It’s narrower than that. If a studio can turn a known property into an event for adults — especially women — the ceiling is a lot higher than Hollywood often assumes. This weekend didn’t just give Disney a hit. It reminded the industry that summer audiences are broader, and more willing to show up, than the usual blockbuster template suggests. (deadline.com)
