‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’ is shaping up to be more than a nostalgic return. It could be one of the summer’s major box office events.
Early tracking suggests the sequel may open to as much as $65 million to $66 million in the U.S. over the May 1 to May 3 weekend, a strong start for a movie aimed largely at female audiences. That is a big number for a non-family studio release, especially in a slot that has usually been dominated by superhero titles and other male-led franchise plays.
If that forecast holds, the long-awaited follow-up to the 2006 hit could kick off the summer movie season in serious style.
Why ‘Prada 2’ Is Starting Strong
As expected, the movie is playing best with women across age groups. Younger women are showing up, older women are showing up, and first-choice numbers are especially strong with women over 25. That metric is said to be just behind ‘Wicked’ and comfortably ahead of ‘It Ends With Us’, which ended up becoming a late-summer hit after a fast-rising campaign.
Male interest is also said to be in good shape compared with films like ‘Barbie’, ‘The Little Mermaid’, and ‘It Ends With Us’. That matters, because it suggests ‘Prada 2’ may be pulling in more than just fans of the original. It may be turning into a broader event title.
The original ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ was already a box office force when it opened in June 2006, earning nearly $327 million worldwide. In North America, it made $124.7 million and finished among the year’s biggest films. It also turned Miranda Priestly into a lasting pop culture force and helped cement Anne Hathaway, Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, and Stanley Tucci as a cast people still want to watch together.
Why The Release Date Could Help Even More
Disney and 20th Century are also benefiting from where this sequel is landing on the calendar. The May 1 to May 3 frame is treated as the start of summer movie season, a spot that for years has been dominated by Marvel and other male-skewing tentpoles.
This time, ‘Prada 2’ gets that runway. Even better for the studio, the film’s second weekend rolls straight into Mother’s Day, which could give it another lift with exactly the audience already driving early interest.
It also sets the movie up as strong counterprogramming against a pair of more male-focused titles, ‘Mortal Kombat II’ from New Line and Lucasfilm and Disney’s ‘Star Wars: The Mandalorian & Grogu’. In other words, while those films go after the usual summer crowd, ‘Prada 2’ may have a clear lane of its own.
The Sequel Has More Than Nostalgia Going For It
The sequel also has a built-in hook beyond the cast reunion. Director David Frankel has teased that the film will reflect how much the characters and the media world have changed in the past 20 years.
“The characters are obviously 20 years along in their careers and at very different places, and the world of media is in a very different place,” Frankel said. He also suggested Andy’s career arc mirrors what many journalists have gone through in recent years, giving the sequel a more grown-up angle than a simple throwback.
That could help explain why the movie is connecting so well early. This is not being sold as a dress-up reunion alone. It is being positioned as a next chapter for viewers who grew up with the original and still care where these women ended up.
