What The Devil Wears Prada 2's Box Office Means For The Future Of The Franchise

Audiences waited 20 years to see "The Devil Wears Prada 2." Even though the first movie was more of a mid-budget Hollywood studio programmer (the type of which we used to see pretty commonly in the pre-pandemic, pre-streaming era), the sequel has become a bonafide summer blockbuster event, in no small part thanks to the love the original film has garnered over the last two decades. So, the question now becomes: Would Disney be wise to keep this franchise going? And does "The Devil Wears Prada 3" make sense at this point?

Once again directed by David Frankel, "The Devil Wears Prada 2" ruled the box office on its opening weekend with a $233 million global launch against a $100 million budget. Mind you, the first movie made $326.5 million worldwide back in 2006, not accounting for inflation. The appetite for this film hasn't cooled, either, as the sequel has now earned a total of $435 million (and counting) worldwide as of this writing.

On its second weekend, it even managed to top "Mortal Kombat II" at the box office, which left the future of that franchise hanging in the balance. 2010s Hollywood logic probably would have told you to bet on the video game movie sequel, but here we are, with this fashion-forward, women-focused follow-up ranking as one of the top-grossing American movies of 2026 thus far, and with a lot of gas left in the tank.

Even if this movie didn't make another dime (and it's going to make a lot more dimes), just about any studio would happily make a sequel to a film that made 4.3 times its reported production budget with very favorable reviews from both critics and audiences alike. So, will Disney attempt to do precisely that?

First, a little more context. As of right now, it would be downright shocking if "The Devil Wears Prada 2" made anything less than $650 million globally at the end of the day. That would be just about as much as "Project Hail Mary" ($656 million worldwide), which has been declared a monumental win for Amazon MGM Studios despite it having a production budget roughly twice as big as that for the "Devil Wears Prada" sequel. It's nevertheless made enough money to justify a "Project Hail Mary" follow-up (a thing that Amazon will almost certainly pursue).

For even more context, Marvel Studios has released 14 movies in theaters since 2020. Of those movies, just six have made more than $650 million worldwide. The list includes "Spider-Man: No Way Home" ($1.9 billion), "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" ($955 million), "Thor: Love and Thunder" ($760 million), "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" ($859 million), "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" ($845 million), and "Deadpool & Wolverine" ($1.3 billion).

This was, for a long time, the franchise that everyone else in Hollywood was chasing, but 2025 proved that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has fallen from grace at the box office. This isn't about lowering one major property to raise up another one, mind you. It's simply to help illustrate just how well "The Devil Wears Prada 2" is doing.

Disney will, undoubtedly, at least pursue the idea of "The Devil Wears Prada 3" in light of these numbers. It's going to be hugely profitable in theaters alone, to say nothing of the immense VOD and streaming upside. Another sequel makes sense on paper. Whether or not Disney would be able to get everyone to sign on the dotted line is another question entirely.

For a third "Devil Wears Prada" movie to make sense, it would require the core cast to sign on again, including Anne Hathaway, Meryl Streep, Stanley Tucci, and Emily Blunt. Or, at least, most of them. Would they be interested? How much would that cost? Hathaway, Streep, and Blunt were all paid $12.5 million (per Variety) for "The Devil Wears Prada 2," plus a bonus-heavy contract. That means an enormous chunk of the film's $100 million budget went to cast salaries, so a third movie could have an even bigger price tag.

There's also the concern that a theoretical third installment would suffer a drop-off. Take the "Avatar" franchise. The first "Avatar" made $2.9 billion and remains the biggest movie of all time. "Avatar: The Way of Water" came out 13 years later and made $2.3 billion, another staggering sum. Then, last year's "Avatar: Fire and Ash" saw a big drop-off, taking in $1.49 billion. Still an enviable sum, but "Avatar 4" is now uncertain due to how "Fire and Ash" did at the box office. There's a downward trend.

We can also look at the ultra successful legacy sequel "Jurassic World," which has $1.67 billion worldwide to its name. "Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom" ($1.3 billion), "Jurassic World Dominion" ($1 billion), and "Jurassic World Rebirth" ($872 million) all made less. At some point, the law of diminishing returns kicks in.

If "The Devil Wears Prada 3" went the way of "Fire and Ash," with audiences less interested after a shorter break between films, it could be risky. Still, it's a risk Disney would likely be willing to take, assuming it could get its ducks lined up in a row.

"The Devil Wear Prada 2" is in theaters now.