Devil Wears Prada 2 Opens to $75M-$80M as Cast Salaries Eat Half Its $100M Budget

Key facts

• The Devil Wears Prada 2 opened with $75M-$80M domestically and $114.6M globally.
• Cast salaries account for roughly half of the sequel's $100M production budget.
• Lady Gaga received $2.5M for a brief cameo as herself, including a bespoke song.
• Meryl Streep initially turned down the role to double her asking price; producers agreed immediately.
• The film earned an A- CinemaScore, higher than the original's B.
• Women made up 75% of the domestic opening weekend audience.
• Dior, Diet Coke, Old Navy, and Starbucks are among the brand partners featured in the film.
• The sequel is projected to surpass the original's $326M total box office within two weeks.

A Sequel Two Decades in the Making Opens Big

The Devil Wears Prada 2 stormed into theaters with an estimated $75M to $80M domestic opening weekend, pushing its global total to $114.6M after just three days. The $100M sequel, directed by David Frankel, earned $32.5M on Friday alone, with premium large-format screens driving a third of U.S. business. The film's strong start comes amid a broader box office resurgence, with the weekend's total gross reaching $173M across all titles, a 20% increase over the same frame last year. The sequel is expected to surpass the original's $326M worldwide haul within a fortnight, riding a wave of renewed cinema attendance that has boosted other recent releases like Project Hail Mary and the Michael Jackson biopic.

Cast Salaries Consume Half the Budget as Stars Bargain Hard

Nearly half of the sequel's $100M budget went to cast salaries, including leads Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt, and Stanley Tucci, along with a parade of roughly 30 celebrity cameos. Streep revealed on the Today show that she initially turned down the role of Miranda Priestly in the 2006 original to extract more money from producers. "They called me up and they made an offer," she said. "I said, no, not going to do it. I knew it was going to be a hit, and I wanted to see [what would happen] if I doubled my ask. They went right away and said: 'Sure!' Two decades later, the negotiating tactics remain sharp. During a joint interview with Heart Radio, Streep told Blunt that she personally convinced Lady Gaga to appear in the film, calling her from Islington. Gaga, who was on a year-long world tour playing to 75,000-seat stadiums, agreed immediately. Her brief cameo — including a bespoke body-positive song — reportedly cost $2.5M. Blunt and Hathaway joked that Tucci was the last of the four stars to sign on, holding out for top dollar.

Brand Partnerships Mirror Runway's Ad-Supported Model

Just as the fictional Runway magazine relies on advertisers, the sequel's producers brokered a strategic roster of brand partnerships to maximize revenue. The most prominent is Dior, which appears as the company now run by Blunt's character. Other partners include Diet Coke, Old Navy, Tweezerman, Zillow, Tresemmé, L'Oréal, Google, Samsung, and Starbucks. Many tie-in products are available at Walmart, which also sells official merchandise: a Miranda doll ($35), a polyester throw blanket ($14.74), shower wash ($10), and a cerulean blue midi dress ($49). The brand integration extends the film's commentary on media economics into its own business model.

Audience Demographics Reveal Strong Female and Older Skew

Women accounted for 75% of the domestic opening weekend audience, with 63% of those women over 25. The over-45 demographic represented 36% of attendees, and the over-55 group alone made up 22%. PostTrak exit polls showed that 51% of the audience came for the cast, 43% for the actresses, and 42% because it is part of a beloved franchise. Diversity demographics were 48% Caucasian, 28% Hispanic and Latino, 12% Black, and 7% Asian American. The film earned an A- CinemaScore, a notable improvement over the original's B, which director David Frankel attributed to the pre-Covid era's harsher grading of book adaptations by female audiences.

Cameos and Casting Choices Spark Conversation

The sequel features a constellation of cameos from music, fashion, sport, and media — about 30 in total — including Lady Gaga, Donatella Versace, Ciara, Marc Jacobs, Naomi Campbell, Heidi Klum, and Edward Enninful. In one scene, Blunt's character gives Versace an earful, suggesting the real-life designer is the lower-status player at their lunch. Kenneth Branagh appears in a modest role as Miranda's nice violinist boyfriend, but his limited screen time and a line suggesting he is a recovering alcoholic have prompted speculation that his part was larger before editing. A source close to Branagh said they had not heard such a suggestion.

Box Office Context and Competitive Landscape

The Devil Wears Prada 2 opened in 4,150 theaters, easily topping the weekend chart. The Michael Jackson biopic Michael held well in its second week with $51M, bringing its total to $180.8M and becoming Lionsgate's second-highest-grossing post-Covid film behind John Wick: Chapter 4. The Super Mario Galaxy Movie took $12.1M in its fifth week, reaching $402.6M total, while Project Hail Mary added $8.7M in week seven for a $318.4M cume. Newcomer Hokum, a horror film starring Adam Scott, opened to $6M with a B CinemaScore, outperforming NEON's earlier hit Immaculate. Animal Farm, Andy Serkis' animated adaptation, struggled with a C- CinemaScore and a 28% definite recommend from general audiences, though children under 12 gave it a 90% positive score.

A Sequel That Mirrors Its Own Satire

The Devil Wears Prada 2's financial architecture — from star salary negotiations to brand partnerships — mirrors the media economics its fictional Runway magazine critiques. The film's success, driven by a nostalgic older audience and a cast willing to play hardball, suggests that the sequel's meta-commentary on commerce and culture is as sharp as its predecessor's. With an A- CinemaScore and strong global momentum, the sequel is poised to become a cultural touchstone in its own right, proving that the business of making a blockbuster can be as compelling as the story on screen.

The bottom line

• The Devil Wears Prada 2 earned $75M-$80M domestically and $114.6M globally in its opening weekend, on a $100M budget.
• Cast salaries consumed roughly half the budget, with Meryl Streep doubling her fee and Lady Gaga earning $2.5M for a cameo.
• The film's brand partnerships with Dior, Diet Coke, Walmart, and others mirror its satire of media economics.
• Women made up 75% of the audience, with over-45 viewers representing 36% and over-55 viewers 22%.
• The sequel earned an A- CinemaScore, higher than the original's B, and is projected to surpass the original's $326M total within two weeks.
• The film's success underscores a broader box office resurgence, with the weekend total up 20% year-over-year.