Devil Wears Prada 2 Opens to $233M Worldwide
SkimNews Take
Late-arriving legacy sequels now matching superhero-level previews suggests the theatrical tentpole tier is diversifying beyond franchise IP, with creator-driven projects proving a parallel commercial path.
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- The Devil Wears Prada 2 opened to $77M domestic and $233.6M worldwide, the second-best MPA start of 2025 behind only Super Mario Galaxy Movie's $372.5M
- The Devil Wears Prada 2 became the first female-skewing film to top summer's opening weekend, a slot historically owned by Marvel tentpoles; Disney's Alan Bergman got the film ready despite shooting only beginning last July
- The sequel delivered the highest opening ever for Meryl Streep globally ($90M+ previous best was Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again) and the best international/global opening for Emily Blunt, beating Oppenheimer's $176M WW start
- Italy led all overseas markets with $16.6M — the No. 4 Hollywood opening ever in that territory — fueled by Milan's major cameo in the film alongside Lady Gaga
- The Devil Wears Prada 2's opening weekend alone has already earned 72% of the original 2006 film's entire reported $326.5M global cume
- PostTrak exits showed 75% female turnout, 36% over age 45, and 22% over 55; the film earned an A- CinemaScore, beating the original's B grade
- Lionsgate's Michael held impressively in its second weekend with $54M (-44%), bringing its domestic cume to $183.8M and on track to overtake John Wick: Chapter 4 as Lionsgate's biggest post-Covid stateside release
Why it matters: The first weekend of summer 2025 totaled an estimated $174M across all films, +21% over a year ago, powered by two non-superhero breakouts. Disney's decision to slot a 20-year-old female-led fashion IP into a weekend originally held by Avengers: Doomsday is now the highest-grossing Meryl Streep opening ever — a direct counter to the assumption that summer kickoffs must be male-skewing action.
