The Devil Wears Prada 2 has proven that legacy fashion comedies can still fill seats. The sequel crossed $678 million worldwide, a massive result that few mid-2000s comedy-adjacent franchises ever imagined. That performance makes the July 29 streaming debut on Disney+ and Hulu a genuine event rather than a simple catalog move.
What the sequel does
Diana Vreeland famously said that fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. The first film understood that. The second one doubles down on it. Anne Hathaway returns as Andy Sachs, now an intrepid journalist who has taken a job as features editor at Runway Magazine. Meryl Streep’s Miranda Priestly still runs the publication, but a magazine scandal forces the editor-in-chief to give up some control and recruit Andy to save the day.
Stanley Tucci returns as Nigel. Emily Blunt reprises her role as Emily, now a big shot at Dior. That last detail explains why the film keeps its energy. The supporting cast was the secret weapon of the first film, and the sequel does not waste them.
Why it worked this summer
Comedy sequels rarely outperform their predecessors. Action franchises do. Musicals sometimes do. But a fashion-centered comedy opening to $678 million suggests something more durable than nostalgia money. The marketing leaned heavily on Miranda Priestly’s cultural afterlife. Streep’s performance became shorthand for a certain kind of workplace cruelty, which complicated the sequel’s marketing — the posters had to sell warmth without betraying the character’s edge. They managed it.
The audience came in slightly older than the first film’s fans. That skew means it performed well on Thursday previews and held strongly through the weekend. It is a rare female-skewing tentpole that also played families.
“Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street. Fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live.” — Miranda Priestly
Summer box office comparison
The summer still has several high-profile tentpoles, and Devil Wears Prada 2 proves mid-budget-to-medium tentpoles can still compete when casting and tone are right. For a look at how another Disney summer release fared against expectations, see our analysis of Moana’s live-action box office performance.
Why It Matters
Devil Wears Prada 2 revives a dormant brand and turns it into a summer tentpole. That matters because studios have spent the last decade betting almost entirely on superhero and IP sequels. A $678 million comedy sequel — without superpowers, monsters, or franchise tie-ins — is the kind of result that gets green lights moved around. It also helps Disney+ and Hulu retain subscribers through late July, which is exactly when streaming churn peaks.
