Meryl Streep reportedly scored a massive payday to reprise her iconic role as Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada 2.
According to Variety, the Oscar-winning actress negotiated a “favored nations” deal ensuring equal salaries among the sequel’s three returning stars, with Streep, Anne Hathaway and Emily Blunt each reportedly earning $12.5 million upfront for the film.
And that may only be the beginning.
The report claims that all three actresses are also entitled to significant back-end box-office bonuses, with individual earnings potentially surpassing $20 million if the film’s theatrical momentum continues.
Released by 20th Century Studios, the long-awaited sequel has reportedly already approached $300 million globally, making it one of the year’s biggest theatrical success stories.
The return of Miranda Priestly, nearly two decades after the original 2006 film, arrives amid Hollywood’s ongoing obsession with nostalgia-driven sequels and established female-led franchises.
According to Variety, sources close to the production said Streep likely would have demanded a much larger salary, but instead pushed for pay parity among the film’s three central stars.
Representatives for the studio, Creative Artists Agency, and the actresses reportedly declined to comment publicly on the figures.
The sequel reunites much of the original creative team, including director David Frankel and screenwriter Aline Brosh McKenna, whose adaptation of The Devil Wears Prada helped turn the first film into a cultural phenomenon.
The original movie grossed more than $326 million worldwide on a reported $35 million budget and became one of the defining studio comedies of the 2000s, with Streep’s performance as the icy fashion editor widely considered one of the most memorable roles of her career.
The sequel reportedly carried a production budget of nearly $100 million, much of which was allocated toward talent compensation.
And honestly, if there was ever a legacy sequel where audiences would actually pay to watch Miranda Priestly terrorize people in couture again… this was probably it.
Have you seen Devil 2 yet?
The Geek is a working screenwriter, director and screenwriting instructor.
REELated:
Lanterns trailer lands… um where’s the green?
