Miranda Priestly’s Second Coming in ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’ Has Made Disney the First Studio to Cross $2 Billion in 2026
Hollywood has been riding a nostalgia wave for years, but few films in recent memory have embodied the full commercial power of that formula quite like ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’. Twenty years after Miranda Priestly first demanded her cerulean-swathed presence be felt across every corner of pop culture, the fashion world’s most feared editor is back, and audiences have shown up in staggering numbers to welcome her return.
The sequel reunites the original director David Frankel and screenwriter Aline Brosh McKenna with stars Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt, and Stanley Tucci, all reprising their beloved roles alongside newcomers Lucy Liu, Justin Theroux, and Kenneth Branagh. The film launched on May 1 to $77 million domestically and $233 million worldwide in its opening weekend, marking the biggest opening of Meryl Streep’s career and the highest domestic debut for a traditional comedy since ‘Pitch Perfect 2’ in 2015.
That kind of momentum is rare, and it shows no sign of slowing down. In its second weekend, ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’ added $43 million domestically and a massive $75 million overseas across 51 territories, bringing its global cumulative total to $433 million after just two weekends of release. The sequel retained the number one spot on domestic charts despite three major new releases competing for audiences, including the video game adaptation ‘Mortal Kombat II’.
That sustained dominance has now pushed its studio to a landmark achievement. Disney has become the first major motion picture studio in 2026 to cross the $2 billion mark at the global box office, with ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’ serving as the decisive push over that threshold. The other films contributing to that milestone include ‘Hoppers’ with $371.6 million, ‘Send Help’ with $94 million, and the strong carryover performances of ‘Zootopia 2’ and ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’ from 2025.
The achievement feels all the more remarkable given how long the sequel took to materialize. For years, cast members had publicly poured cold water on any prospect of a follow-up. As recently as early 2024, Blunt stated on the Happy Sad Confused podcast that there had “never” been any concrete discussions about a sequel, saying the cast is “good” without one and that “sometimes things should be cherished and preserved in this bubble.” That skepticism has since transformed into one of the year’s most celebrated cinematic reunions.
Critics and audiences have largely embraced the return, with ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’ earning a 78% Certified Fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes alongside an 86% audience approval rating. The sequel has already surpassed the entire global lifetime gross of the original 2006 film, which earned $326.5 million worldwide over its full theatrical run.
The film succeeded not simply because it was a sequel to a recognized title, but because of a rare convergence of conditions: the original cast, director, and writer all returning together, something that almost never happens in modern Hollywood. In a release calendar crowded with franchise installments and remakes, ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’ has proven that the right reunion, handled with genuine care, can still move audiences in ways that feel genuinely earned.
Let us know in the comments whether you think ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’ deserves its blockbuster status, or whether Miranda Priestly should have stayed retired.
