The Devil Wears Prada 2 storms in with $233M worldwide debut: How it stacks up against the original

Two decades after Miranda Priestly famously dropped a coat on a desk and permanently altered how the world looks at fashion and fear, she’s back. And yes, she still looks like she could end your career with a single raised eyebrow.

The Devil Wears Prada 2 has walked into cinemas with all the confidence of a runway finale, opening to a dazzling $233.6 million worldwide. The numbers tell a story even Miranda might approve of. The film earned $77 million in North America and $156.6 million internationally, against a reported $100 million production budget.

Not bad for a sequel stepping back into heels that were never really left behind.

According to the Associated Press, the budget ballooned largely because of its star-studded lineup. Director David Frankel admitted that once the 'biggest stars in the world' were accounted for, the remaining production spend felt surprisingly similar to the scrappier 2006 original.

Disney’s 20th Century Studios leaned fully into legacy marketing. The cast, Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt, and Stanley Tucci, did the rounds in style capitals across the world, while Anna Wintour herself joined the spectacle with appearances alongside the cast and a Vogue cover moment that felt more like canon than promotion, notes Associated Press.

The nostalgia strategy clearly worked. In the weeks leading up to release, streaming of the original The Devil Wears Prada surged by 428 per cent, proving that audiences were ready for the sequel.

Elsewhere at the box office, the competition tried its best to keep up. The Michael Jackson biopic Michael posted a respectable $54 million domestically and $423.9 million globally, holding steady in its second weekend with a modest 44% drop. Strong numbers—but not enough to outshine the cerulean wave sweeping theatres.

How much did the original film make?

The original The Devil Wears Prada was a sleeper hit when it debuted in June 2006. On a relatively modest production budget of $35 million, it went on to earn $326.7 million worldwide.

Here is the breakdown of its original run:

• Domestic (US and Canada): $124.7 million

• International: $201.9 million

• Total worldwide: $326.7 million

• To put that in perspective, the film earned over nine times its production budget, which is a huge win for a mid-budget comedy-drama. It also set a high bar for the sequel, though the new film's $233.6 million global opening weekend suggests Miranda Priestly’s influence has only grown over the last twenty years.

With inputs from the Associated Press