A billion-dollar box office milestone is not something many comedy franchises can claim, especially with just two films. Yet 20 years after audiences first stepped into the high-pressure world of Runway magazine, The Devil Wears Prada franchise has officially crossed the US$1 billion mark worldwide.
Driving that success is The Devil Wears Prada 2, which has earned US$676 million globally in just seven weeks and become one of the biggest surprise hits of 2026.
The sequel wasted no time proving its appeal. It opened to US$233.6 million worldwide, including US$77 million in North America, and surpassed the original film’s entire domestic box office run within nine days.
Much of the film’s success comes down to a simple formula: give fans what they loved in the first place. Rather than rebooting the franchise or introducing a new generation of characters, the sequel reunited director David Frankel, screenwriter Aline Brosh McKenna and original stars Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci.
The demand was visible even before the film reached cinemas. In the weeks leading up to its release, viewership of the original film surged by more than 400%, highlighting the enduring popularity of a story that has remained part of pop culture for two decades.
That renewed interest translated into ticket sales, with longtime fans turning out in large numbers to see where the characters ended up 20 years later. The film has also found audiences well beyond North America. The UK emerged as its biggest international market, while Italy, Australia, Japan, Brazil and Germany all delivered strong results.
Those global returns have helped push the franchise beyond the billion-dollar threshold, a rare achievement for a series built around character-driven storytelling rather than superheroes or established blockbuster franchises.
