Disney's legacy sequel The Devil Wears Prada 2 continues to make waves at the box office and has recently surpassed a DCEU milestone project. The Devil Wears Prada 2 has drawn huge crowds since its May 1st release, proving its relevance even 20 years after the original film. Disney placed a sizeable bet on the movie, boosting its budget and funding a major marketing campaign, and that effort has now paid dividends.
Even five weeks after its release, The Devil Wears Prada 2 continues to perform at the box office, and its latest numbers have it surpassing a well-known DCEU title. The Disney film recently strutted past $448 million at the international (non-domestic) box office, meaning it is just shy of a major $450 million milestone. This also pushed it past $663 million worldwide, meaning it has officially surpassed the box office returns of the most expensive DCEU superhero film: Justice League.
Joss Whedon's Justice League was released in 2017 and was the culmination of four years of storytelling in the DCEU, combining the stories of Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, Cyborg, Aquaman, and the Flash for the first time in live-action. The reported budget for Justice League was $300 million, making it the most expensive of the DCEU films, and it ended up grossing just over double that, with $661 million worldwide. Internationally, it made $432 million.
Currently, Justice League still has The Devil Wears Prada 2 beat at the US domestic box office, with the former garnering $229 million, and the latter $214 million, but The Devil Wears Prada 2 also has yet to finish its theatrical run, so it still has a decent chance of passing that number.
The Devil Wears Prada 2's latest numbers mean it has not only surpassed Justice League, but also other DCEU superhero films, including Black Adam, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, and Wonder Woman 1984. The Devil Wears Prada 2's international numbers also put it past the DCU's newest blockbuster Superman, which made it to $618 million worldwide (versus DWP2's $663 million).
The Devil Wears Prada 2 brings back original cast members Anne Hathaway, Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, and Stanley Tucci for a sequel that follows the legendary fictional fashion publication, Runway, in a new, turbulent era of digital media.
The Devil Wears Prada 2 Is Disney's Biggest 2026 Success Story
The Devil Wears Prada 2's box-office performance is nothing short of a huge success for the Disney IP. The global numbers right now have The Devil Wears Prada 2 in the fourth spot for highest-grossing movies this year, falling behind only The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, Michael, and Project Hail Mary, but surpassing Disney's other box-office crown contenders like The Mandalorian & Grogu and Hoppers.
While female-led films or comedies are typically considered risky projects for studios, The Devil Wears Prada 2 is proving its worth. With over $600 million at the global box office and counting, The Devil Wears Prada 2 has well surpassed its reported $100 million production budget, signaling the risk was well worth taking. The combination of love for the original Devil Wears Prada film and the involvement of key original cast members like Hathaway and Streep has made The Devil Wears Prada 2 a cinematic event (worthy of its own limited-edition popcorn bucket), and audiences are proving it by showing up in theaters.
The Devil Wears Prada 2 isn't the only legacy sequel to have come out in recent years, with the likes of Freakier Friday, Karate Kid: Legends, and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny all struggling at the box office. The Devil Wears Prada 2 isn't even the only legacy sequel on Disney's schedule this year, but its ongoing huge success has set a high benchmark that will be difficult even for upcoming superhero films to surpass.
