The Devil Wears Prada 2 officially came on tracking Thursday, and the early numbers being reported suggest that the most anticipated female-driven film of the summer is shaping up to be one of the biggest box office stories of 2026.
One leading research firm is projecting the sequel could earn as much as $66 million domestically over its May 1-3 opening weekend.
Deadline is reporting a $66 million-plus figure from the same tracking data. Box Office Pro’s longer-range estimate goes further, projecting a domestic opening in the $80 to $95 million range.
To understand why those numbers matter, compare them to the original. The Devil Wears Prada opened to $27.5 million domestically in 2006.
A $66 million opening would be roughly two and a half times that. A $95 million opening would be more than three times.
The 2006 film ultimately grossed $326.6 million worldwide on an estimated $35 to $41 million budget.
It is now one of the most-quoted films of its generation. The sequel arrives with nearly twenty years of cultural buildup behind it.
The Devil Wears Prada’s Strong Performance
The film comes on tracking with pre-sales that are reportedly double those of Wuthering Heights at the same point in that film’s sales window. Tickets for Devil Wears Prada 2 went on sale March 12.
According to Deadline, first-choice interest is particularly strong with women over 25, sitting just below where Wicked was and well ahead of It Ends With Us at comparable points.
Male definite interest is described as being in good shape relative to Barbie, The Little Mermaid, and It Ends With Us. This is not a film performing only within one demo.
Box Office Theory noted that the film’s social awareness, trailer footprints, and pre-sales are among the best of the year, outpacing recent female-driven tentpoles including The Housemaid and Freakier Friday.
The sequel also has a structural advantage in its second frame, it opens May 1 and its second weekend falls on Mother’s Day, May 10, which should extend its theatrical run beyond what a typical opening-weekend-heavy release would sustain.
The competition surrounding the release is relatively light. Other films opening the same weekend of May 1 include Animal Farm and several smaller titles.
The major counter-programming competition comes in the weeks following. Mortal Kombat II opens May 15, and Star Wars: The Mandalorian & Grogu arrives Memorial Day weekend.
Devil Wears Prada 2 will have a largely clear runway, appropriately, for most of May.
How It Landed The First Weekend Of May
The first weekend of May has historically been the unofficial start of summer at the multiplex.
For the better part of a decade, Marvel Studios claimed it consistently, usually with an Avengers or Iron Man entry. Avengers: Doomsday had originally been set for May 1, 2026.
When that film moved to December, Disney had a problem: a premium summer opening slot with nothing to fill it. The solution was the Prada sequel, which is produced by 20th Century Studios, also owned by Disney.
It is worth noting what this means for the genre positioning of the movie.
For decades, the first-weekend-of-May slot has been reserved for what Hollywood calls fanboy titles, broad-audience action tentpoles aimed at male-skewing demographics.
The Devil Wears Prada 2 is a comedy drama targeting female audiences of all ages, with some male crossover.
Putting it in this slot is both a statement and a bet that the appetite for this film is large enough to justify the comparison.
What Is The Devil Wears Prada 2 About?
The sequel picks up nearly twenty years after the events of the 2006 original. Andy Sachs, played by Anne Hathaway, has returned to Runway Magazine as its Features Editor, a significant step up from the junior assistant position she held in the first film.
She is brought back specifically to help Miranda Priestly navigate a public scandal that is causing Runway’s stock to plummet and generating bad press for both Miranda and the magazine.
Miranda, played once again by Meryl Streep, has not softened. In the final trailer released April 6, she makes her position clear, “I did not hire you, and all I need to do is bide my time until you fail.”
She tells Andy to take the train while she takes the car. The fundamental power dynamic of the original, Andy perpetually being reminded of her place, appears intact even as Andy’s title has changed.
The central conflict involves Emily Charlton, played by Emily Blunt, who is now a high-powered executive at a luxury brand with advertising funding that Runway desperately needs.
Emily is described as having a new personal mantra in the film, “May the bridges I burn light my way.”
The dynamic between Miranda and her former first assistant, now in a position of financial leverage over her, is the core tension of the story. The film also introduces Simone Ashley as Amari, Miranda’s new assistant, who mirrors Andy’s position from the first film.
In the final trailer, Andy tells Amari, “I used to have your job. Got to go to Paris Fashion Week, wore a bunch of pieces from the Chanel collection that year.” Amari’s shock at Andy not having kept the Chanel is among the trailer’s more comic beats.
The broader context is the decline of traditional print media. Runway is fighting for relevance against influencers, direct-to-consumer brands, and algorithm-driven discovery.
The timing is sharp, in the real world, Anna Wintour, widely rumored to be the inspiration for Miranda Priestly, recently stepped down as Editor-in-Chief of American Vogue after 37 years.
The film’s premise of a legacy fashion magazine scrambling to survive the digital age lands differently in that context.
The Full Cast
The core four return. Meryl Streep as Miranda, Anne Hathaway as Andy, Emily Blunt as Emily, and Stanley Tucci as Nigel. Tracie Thoms reprises her role as Andy’s best friend Lily, and Tibor Feldman is back as Irv, the chairman of Runway’s parent company.
New additions include Kenneth Branagh as Miranda’s husband, Justin Theroux as Emily’s husband, Simone Ashley as Miranda’s new assistant Amari, Lucy Liu, Patrick Brammall as Andy’s new love interest, B.J. Novak as Jay Ravitz, Pauline Chalamet, Rachel Bloom, Caleb Hearon, Helen J. Shen, and Conrad Ricamora.
The film also has a notable set of cameos. Lady Gaga appears in the film in a role that has not been officially specified.
Sydney Sweeney was spotted on set with Emily Blunt and is confirmed as a cameo.
Ashley Graham and Donatella Versace also filmed cameo appearances.
Gaga additionally contributed an original song to the film alongside rapper Doechii, the track is titled “Runway,” features a house pop sound, and was featured prominently in the final trailer with the closing line “You were born for the runway.”
It is Gaga’s first major film project since Joker: Folie à Deux.
One name conspicuously absent is Adrian Grenier, who played Andy’s chef boyfriend Nate in the original.
He has been replaced by Patrick Brammall as Andy’s new partner. Grenier addressed his exclusion in March: “Obviously, it was a disappointment that I didn’t get the call to be in the sequel.
But I also understand there was some backlash with Nate, the character, so that might have something to do with it.” He went on to film a Starbucks ad poking fun at his situation, which has circulated widely.
The Trailers And The Marketing
Three trailers have been released. The first small teaser dropped November 12, 2025 and showed Miranda’s heels striding through the Runway office, soundtracked to Madonna’s “Vogue.”
The full teaser arrived on January 31, 2026 during the Grammy Awards and reportedly became the most-watched comedy trailer in 15 years, with 181.5 million views in its first 24 hours.
The third and final trailer dropped April 6 and filled in substantial plot detail while debuting the Gaga and Doechii song.
The promotional campaign has extended into physical spaces. On April 13, 20th Century Studios will release a limited-edition promotional version of Runway Magazine at pop-up newsstands in New York and Los Angeles, with Emily Blunt’s character on the cover.
Hathaway and Streep have also been doing an extensive international press tour, with stops in Mexico City, Tokyo, and Seoul, with New York, Shanghai, and London still to come.
Anne Hathaway has spoken about the unusual relationship the first film has built with its audience over nearly two decades:
“I feel like I was, like, everybody’s babysitter. And I was a child when I made The Princess Diaries. I was still a 22-year-old mess of a human when I made The Devil Wears Prada. And so, we’ve grown up together.”
Emily Blunt, on the recurring dynamic of playing opposite Streep:
“Why are Meryl and I so mean to each other in every movie we do? We always have beef with each other. I don’t know what it is. Let’s hope we remedy it. I’m not sure.”
The Devil Wears Prada 2 opens exclusively in theaters May 1, 2026.
