Meryl Streep revealed on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert that despite the global success of The Devil Wears Prada, they had to “scramble for our budget” because studios minimized the 2006 film as a “chick flick.”
“Twenty years ago it was categorized as a ‘chick flick’ and that designation has kind of not worn well,” she told Colbert in an April 1 interview. “After Barbie and Mamma Mia! and other films that completely catch the studio by surprise, that people want to see them, because they have girls — they have women at the center of the story. So we had to scramble for our budget.”
Yet when it came to the budget for the sequel film, The Devil Wears Prada 2, there was no scrambling to be found. “This one, honey, they spent the money,” Streep said, leading to a big applause from the audience.
Now, twenty years later, the core ensemble cast from the 2006 film is returning to reprise their roles. As it turns out, Streep was right to claim that no one is underestimating the success of the movie now, since filming the sequel came with an “unnerving” fan frenzy, according to the actress. While filming The Devil Wears Prada 2 in 2025, the crowds of fans got so massive that the studios had to take safety precautions to keep the actors protected.
“Even though we were aware of the impact of the first film two decades ago, I think none of us were prepared for the ambush of both goodwill and avid attention that engulfed us,” Streep told Harper’s Bazaar during a cover story from March 25. “We needed police barriers and crowd control. Buses of fans turned up, and paparazzi swarmed.”
Catch The Devil Wears Prada 2 in theaters May 1.
