Entertainment
This 10-Year-Old Comedy Surges on 3 Streaming Charts, Hinting at Huge Box Office for Its Sequel
In less than a week, the summer movie season will kick off with The Devil Wears Prada 2, the long-awaited sequel to David Frankel‘s 2006 hit. Reuniting stars Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt, Stanley Tucci, and Meryl Streep, the new movie will pick up with the Runway staff in the present day as they cope with an ever-changing media industry and dramatic scandals. Expectations are already high, and thus far, 20th Century Studios has given it a rollout that even Miranda Priestly would approve of, from countless brand partnerships to a buzzy single from Lady Gaga and Doechii.
At this point, legacy sequels to beloved older movies aren’t anything new. Big franchises have made a habit of recruiting their original stars to help anchor new entries, and once-standalone films like Top Gun and Practical Magic have opted to revisit properties from decades ago. The Devil Wears Prada 2, like any sequel coming more than ten years after its predecessor, runs the risk of struggling to recreate the passion that fueled its very creation in the first place. Luckily, however, there are already signs that it’ll be a runaway hit all over again, and that forecast comes from the first Devil Wears Prada itself.
‘The Devil Wears Prada’ Is the Ideal Early 2000s Comfort Watch
Based on the novel of the same name by Lauren Weisberger, The Devil Wears Prada follows aspiring journalist Andy Sachs (Hathaway) as she takes on a job as an assistant to Miranda Priestly (Streep), the icy and legendary editor-in-chief of a respected fashion magazine. What seems like a simple enough job proves to be far more trying, leading Andy on a transformative journey that forces her to question what she really wants in life. Upon release in 2006, The Devil Wears Prada became a critical and box office hit, and it’s only grown in popularity since then thanks to cable reruns and streaming. The film was also recently trending in the daily Top 10s for three different services: HBO Max, Hulu, and Disney+ (where a sneak peek at the sequel is also trending).
There’s a reason this movie has stuck around for so long in pop culture — several reasons, actually. Beyond the fact that Streep and Tucci are both Hollywood royalty, and that Hathaway and Blunt have only become bigger stars, The Devil Wears Prada is the perfect example of the aspirational movies that defined the early 2000s. As many have pointed out in recent years, the publishing world that the film depicts doesn’t really exist anymore, but Andy’s desire to write for a respected publication is one shared by thousands of others, and seeing her work her way up the corporate ladder through sheer determination and hard work makes that dream seem a little more possible. On a broader level, so many people know what it’s like to work for a horrible boss, and there’s a strange comfort that comes from watching Andy dash through the streets of New York while clutching several hot cups of coffee.
The Devil Wears Prada has long resonated especially well with women, even though it could easily be written off by naysayers as nothing more than a girlboss fantasy. Its three main female characters — Andy, Miranda, and Emily (Blunt) — are well-defined and flawed in unique, compelling ways. For women seeking authentic stories about other women, this one fits the bill. It also helps that The Devil Wears Prada is stylish and filled with memorable montages and quotes.
‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’ Has Big Heels To Fill – but It Can Do It
The Devil Wears Prada 2 has been positioned as a major summer blockbuster. Case in point: Disney scheduled it for the first weekend in May, a slot that, save for a handful of recent exceptions, has typically housed Marvel Studios releases. In fact, May 1 was once slated to be the release day of Avengers: Doomsday, one of 2026’s biggest titles. That Disney and 20th Century Studios slid The Devil Wears Prada 2 into its spot shows just how confident they are in its success.
The True Villain in ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ Depends On Where You Are in Life
Between Christian, Nate, and even Andy, is Miranda Priestly really the cruelest character in the classic comedy?
The original is undoubtedly a cultural phenomenon, but previous goodwill doesn’t always translate to surefire success. For every smash hit like Top Gun: Maverick, there are other long-awaited franchise continuations that struggle to draw crowds, like last year’s efforts Karate Kid: Legends and I Know What You Did Last Summer. To be fair, The Devil Wears Prada 2 isn’t quite like those; whereas most legacy sequels introduce a new ensemble to star alongside the returning cast, this one seems to be keeping its focus on the original characters. That could be an extra point in its favor, since the first movie is so beloved. So far, the trailers have indicated the sequel will serve up more of what fans love — from Emily snarking at Andy to Miranda remaining as imperious as ever — while bringing the story into today.
Early tracking put The Devil Wears Prada 2‘s opening weekend at a solid $66 million, but it could go higher as more and more people revisit the original on streaming and remember exactly why they love it so much. There’s even a good chance it enjoys long legs at the box office and sticks around, since it could appeal to older audiences who don’t feel the need to rush out to theaters immediately. Either way, it seems The Devil Wears Prada 2 is poised to make a splash — and that’s all because of the original movie.
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