The Devil Wears Prada 2 has crossed $300 million at the global box office, and the three women at the center of it are being paid accordingly.
Meryl Streep received $12.5 million to reprise her role as the fearsome magazine editor Miranda Priestly in the David Frankel-directed sequel, according to multiple sources who spoke with Variety. That figure, while substantial, is not the largest acting fee of Streep's career. That distinction belongs to her work on Netflix's 2021 disaster dramedy Don't Look Up, in which she played the president. Netflix calculates its fees differently than legacy studios, folding projected theatrical earnings and a back-end buyout into its compensation packages.
For Prada 2, Streep negotiated what is known as a favored nations deal, meaning Anne Hathaway and Emily Blunt each received $12.5 million as well. Hathaway returns as Andrea Sachs and Blunt as Emily Charlton, the same characters they played in the 2006 original. Two sources confirmed the arrangement to Variety.
The flat salaries are only part of the picture. All three actresses also secured box office bonus structures tied to pre-negotiated milestones in the film's theatrical run. Those bonuses have already begun paying out, according to two sources, given the film's commercial performance. If the sequel continues drawing audiences, each of the three stars could earn more than $20 million total.
The original film was made for a reported $35 million and grossed $326 million worldwide. The sequel carried a $100 million budget, which director Frankel has previously said was spent largely on the cast. Streep had signaled her openness to a return as recently as two years ago, when screenwriter Aline Brosh McKenna, who wrote both films, said the star indicated she was "open to ideas" for a sequel.
Prada 2 is currently entering its second weekend in wide release, where it is expected to face competition from Mortal Kombat II for the top spot at the domestic box office. Representatives for 20th Century Studios, CAA, and Streep's camp all declined to comment. Representatives for Hathaway and Blunt did not respond to requests for comment.
