The Devil Wears Prada 2 opened to $10 million in Thursday night previews, putting it among the strongest openings ever for a female-led film and placing it in the same company as current hits Michael and Project Hail Mary at the box office.
The sequel reunites Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Stanley Tucci, and Emily Blunt nearly two decades after the original grossed $326.5 million globally and became a cultural institution. Director David Frankel and writer Aline Brosh McKenna both returned, with Streep again playing imperious Runway editor Miranda Priestley and Hathaway playing former assistant Andy Sachs. The Hollywood Reporter's chief film critic David Rooney wrote that audiences "looking for fierce fashion porn, bitchy put-downs and a fresh dose of Meryl Streep's iconic performance as imperious Anna Wintour clone Miranda Priestly" are "unlikely to be disappointed."
Overseas, the film earned a sensational $40.5 million in its first two days from 42 markets, including sneak previews. It posted the highest opening day of the year so far in Brazil, Italy, South Korea, and Australia, as well as Belgium, Bulgaria, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Greece, Ukraine, New Zealand, Taiwan, and the Philippines.
The sequel also holds a notable distinction domestically: it is the first female-driven film in modern history to open the summer box office, a slot that has traditionally belonged to Marvel superhero films or entries in the Fast & Furious franchise. For comparison, It Ends With Us, another female-led hit, earned $7 million in Thursday previews in August 2023 before going on to gross more than $350 million worldwide.
The story picks up years after the original, with Miranda's Runway magazine being acquired by a soulless media conglomerate led by BJ Novak, who moves quickly to change the publication's editorial direction and impose layoffs. Andy, meanwhile, has just been let go from her job as an award-winning political reporter. As IndieWire noted, the film arrives at a moment when its portrayal of a media industry battered by advertising losses, AI encroachment, dying print readership, and algorithmic deprioritization lands with uncomfortable precision for working journalists.
Fashion is woven throughout, but so is music. Lady Gaga plays herself in a cameo and contributes three songs to the official soundtrack: "Shape of a Woman," a collaboration with Doechii called "RUNWAY," and the closing credits track "Glamorous Life." There is no post-credits scene, but Screen Rant confirmed that audiences who stay through the credits will hear "Glamorous Life," a power ballad about fame and authenticity that connects directly to the film's central themes. The song is the third track on the 13-song official soundtrack, though it is the last heard in the film. Gaga has a proven track record with movie original songs, having contributed to A Star Is Born and Top Gun: Maverick.
The weekend opening total is expected to land well above those Thursday preview figures, with tracking pointing toward a debut in the range set by It Ends With Us. Whether Prada 2 can match or exceed that film's $350 million worldwide run remains to be seen, but its first days at the box office suggest audiences have been waiting a long time for this reunion.
