The Devil Wears Prada 2 earns $43M, narrowly overtakes Mortal Kombat II at weekend box office

In a tightly fought battle between two major franchise sequels, The Devil Wears Prada 2 has emerged as the weekend’s top performer at the North American box office, edging out the highly anticipated debut of Mortal Kombat II.

The Devil Wears Prada sequel narrowly beats Mortal Kombat II in box office

According to studio estimates released on Sunday, the fashion-focused sequel earned $43 million (£34 million) in its second weekend in cinemas, narrowly ahead of Mortal Kombat II, which opened to $40 million (£31.7 million) across North America. The margin was slim, but enough to keep the 20th Century Studios release at number one for a second consecutive week.

The result marks another strong showing for The Devil Wears Prada 2, which has continued to build momentum since its opening. The film has now amassed more than $433 million globally in just 12 days of release, comfortably surpassing the full theatrical earnings of the original 2006 film and underlining the commercial power of nostalgia-driven sequels.

Industry analysts noted that the Mother’s Day weekend release calendar may have worked in the film’s favour. With its strong female-skewing audience and broad cross-generational appeal, the sequel appears to have benefited from family turnout and repeat viewings.

By contrast, Mortal Kombat II delivered a solid domestic debut but posted softer-than-expected international numbers, earning an additional $23 million overseas for a global opening tally of $63 million. While the Warner Bros. sequel performed well among core action and gaming audiences, its opening fell slightly below some pre-release projections that had suggested it could challenge for the top domestic spot.

The sequel to the 2021 reboot had entered the weekend with significant anticipation among franchise fans. Early Friday figures had placed it ahead of The Devil Wears Prada 2, but stronger weekend holdover numbers allowed the fashion comedy-drama to reclaim the lead by Sunday.

Elsewhere, the Michael Jackson biopic Michael continued its strong theatrical run, taking third place with $36.5 million domestically and pushing its worldwide total to more than $577 million. Family mystery release The Sheep Detectives debuted in fourth place, while Billie Eilish’s concert documentary rounded out the top five.

The continued success of The Devil Wears Prada 2 also marks a major milestone for star Meryl Streep, with the sequel reportedly becoming one of the highest-grossing films of her career.