Movie theaters are en vogue again — at least based on the blockbuster turnout for “The Devil Wears Prada 2.”
Disney’s star-studded sequel has defied box office expectations with $77 million in its opening weekend. Those ticket sales tower above the original, which launched to $27.5 million domestically in 2006. They also rank as the third-best start of the year, behind “Michael” ($97.5 million) and “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” ($131 million) and ahead of “Project Hail Mary” ($80 million).
“Prada 2” racked up another $156.6 million at the international box office, bringing global ticket sales to $233.6 million for the weekend.
Disney’s 20th Century Studios spent lavishly on the sequel, which was produced for roughly $100 million, not including the worldwide marketing budget. To compare, the first film carried a price tag of around $40 million, not adjusted for inflation. Director David Frankel told the New York Times the sequel’s budget “mostly went to [the cast].” Already, the studio’s investment in more “Prada” is proving to be money well spent; the second film is poised to outgross the original’s lifetime haul in a matter of weeks.
“Very few dramedies do this kind of business once, let alone a second time that’s bigger,” says David A. Gross, who publishes the box office newsletter FranchiseRe. “Audiences, mostly female, can’t get enough.”
Lauren Weisberg’s 2003 novel, a roman à clef about working as an assistant to Vogue boss Anna Wintour, was the basis of the first film. The follow-up, which brought back the original director Frankel and screenwriter Aline Brosh McKenna, picks up two decades later as Anne Hathaway’s Andy Sachs returns to Runway magazine as a features editor under Meryl Streep’s powerful editor-in-chief, Miranda Priestly. Reviews were mixed, but audiences were more receptive and awarded it an “A-“ grade on CinemaScore exit polls.
“The Devil Wears Prada 2″ benefitted from nostalgia as well as the excitement of the original cast — Streep, Hathaway, Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci — returning to their beloved roles after 20 years. The first film, a commercial success with $326 million globally, has remained a generation-spanning cultural touchstone. That’s thanks in part to endlessly quotable lines like “gird your loins!” and “by all means, move at a glacial pace” and one withering monologue about a cerulean-colored sweater.
“I never had any idea that my lines would get quoted to me every single week of my life since the movie has come out,” Blunt told Variety when “The Devil Wears Prada” turned 10.
“The Devil Wears Prada 2” was this weekend’s only major new release, so holdover titles rounded out the rest of the box office charts. Second place went to “Michael” with a massive $54 million in its second weekend, down just 44% from its debut. Lionsgate’s musical biopic about Michael Jackson has been a major draw with $183.8 million in North America and $423 million globally.
Universal’s animated “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” landed in third place with $12.1 million. After four weekends of release, the family film has earned $402.67 million domestically and more than $900 million globally.
“Project Hail Mary” was No. 4 with $8.5 million, another solid hold for the space epic in its seventh weekend of release. So far, the Ryan Gosling-led blockbuster has generated $318 million in North America and $783 million worldwide.
Also new to theaters is Neon’s indie thriller “Hokum,” which debuted in fifth place with $6.4 million from 1,855 theaters. Adam Scott stars as a writer who travels to an Irish inn to spread the ashes of his parents, unaware that the estate is haunted by an ancient evil. The film earned a “B” grade on CinemaScore, which is strong for the horror genre.
“Audiences are generally in some state of agitation at the end of a horror movie,” Gross adds. “So a B score is excellent.”
”Animal Farm,” this weekend’s final newcomer, opened at No. 6 with $3.3 million. Angel Studios backed the animated Orwellian remake, which has been saddled with lousy reviews and a weak “C-“ grade on CinemaScore.
