The Devil Wears Prada 2 Just Crushed Every Box Office Record — Here's Why 2026's Summer Belongs to Miranda Priestly

The Devil Wears Prada 2 Is Eating the Summer Box Office Alive

If anyone thought summer 2026 would belong to capes, explosions, and superhero franchises, The Devil Wears Prada 2 just walked into theaters and said: \"Don't be ridiculous.\" The long-awaited sequel — arriving a full 20 years after the 2006 original — has single-handedly kicked off Hollywood's summer season with a jaw-dropping $233 million global debut, making it the biggest opening weekend for a live-action film in 2026 so far.

And honestly? It's not even that surprising.

The Numbers That Prove Miranda Priestly Still Runs Hollywood

Let's talk numbers, because they are absolutely wild. The Devil Wears Prada 2 opened at $77 million domestically — that's more than double what the original made in its entire opening weekend back in 2006. In just 12 days, the film has already crossed $433 million worldwide, putting it on track to potentially surpass the $550 million mark according to industry analysts.

The film also scored Meryl Streep's biggest opening weekend ever, which is honestly just further proof that the woman is unstoppable. Anne Hathaway's character Andrea \"Andy\" Sachs and Streep's iconic Miranda Priestly returned to the big screen alongside Emily Blunt (reprising her role as Emily Charlton) and Stanley Tucci (as Nigel Kipling), and audiences absolutely ate it up.

The Thursday night previews alone pulled in a massive $10 million, signaling from the very first night that this was going to be a phenomenon.

Why This Movie, Why Now?

There's a bigger story here than just box office figures. The Devil Wears Prada 2 represents a major cultural shift. For years, the summer movie season has been dominated by superhero movies and franchise action flicks. But here we are, and a fashion comedy-drama about a magazine editor and her former assistant has outperformed virtually everything else on the slate.

As Reuters put it: theater owners were counting on \"the high-heeled women of The Devil Wears Prada 2\" instead of cape-wearing heroes this summer. And that gamble paid off spectacularly. The film temporarily dethroned the Michael Jackson biopic \"Michael\" at the #1 spot, and even held its own against Mortal Kombat II on Mother's Day weekend.

It also helped push Disney and 20th Century Studios into a commanding lead for the summer season, with projections now suggesting the domestic summer box office could finally hit the $4 billion+ mark this year.

What This Means for the Future

The success of The Devil Wears Prada 2 sends a clear message to Hollywood: audiences are hungry for well-made, character-driven films with strong female leads. It's a female-skewing movie leading the North American summer, and that's still relatively rare in the blockbuster space.

With the film already becoming one of Anne Hathaway's highest-grossing movies ever (joining ranks with her other major hits), and Meryl Streep proving she can still sell out theaters at 76 years old, don't be surprised if we see more legacy sequels get the green light in the near future.

The Devil Wears Prada 2 is now playing in theaters worldwide. Have you seen it yet? Drop your thoughts below — and yes, we want to know if Miranda Priestly still gives you chills. (She does.)