‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’ gathers $32.5 million on opening day

“Don’t be ridiculous, Andrea. Everybody wants this. Everybody wants to be us.”

That’s most likely the attitude at 20th Century Studios this weekend, because “The Devil Wears Prada 2” easily topped the box office charts on Friday with $32.5 million from 4,150 North American theaters. The fashion-forward sequel is targeting $75 million to $80 million by Sunday, but some box office projectionists have earnings climbing even higher to around $90 million over its debut weekend. The first “Devil Wears Prada” premiered in June 2006. It grossed $27.5 million domestically over its opening weekend and $125 million domestically by the end of its box office run ($45 million and $204 million when adjusted for inflation).

Original director David Frankel and screenwriter Aline Brosh McKenna both returned for “The Devil Wears Prada 2,” along with original stars Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci. The sequel follows Hathaway’s Andy Sachs, now an authority in the world of fashion journalism, as she reunites with Streep’s powerful editor-in-chief Miranda Priestly at Runway magazine.

Last weekend’s champ, “Michael,” fell to second place with $14.4 million domestically on its second Friday in theaters. By Sunday, Lionsgate’s musical biopic about the King of Pop should add $51 million, which represents about a 48% decline from last week’s numbers. The domestic total is expected to reach $180 million through the weekend.

If “Michael” can hold strong, it has an outside shot at usurping 2018’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” as the highest-grossing musical biopic of all time. That film topped out at a $910 million at the end of its box office run. Even if it falls short of that figure, “Michael” has an even better chance of legging out “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” as the highest-grossing Lionsgate film of all time ($865 million).

Along with “The Devil Wears Prada 2,” Angel Studios’ animated “Animal Farm” adaptation also hit cinemas on Friday. It landed in sixth place with an estimated $1.1 million domestically from 1,130 theaters. Andy Serkis directs and stars in the family friendly reimanging of George Orwell’s 1945 allegorical novel. The starry cast also includes Jim Parsons, Iman Vellani, Seth Rogen, Woody Harrelson, Steve Buscemi, Glenn Close and Kieran Culkin.

“The Super Mario Galaxy” movie took third with $2.7 million domestically on Friday, and it looks to add $12 million by Sunday. That would put the video game sequel at $402 million domestically through five weekends of release.

Neon’s newcomer “Hokum” took fourth place, earning an estimated $2.6 million domestically. It’s targeting around $6 million by Sunday. Damian McCarthy wrote and directed the horror film, which follows a writer who goes to an Irish inn to spread the ashes of his parents, unaware that the estate is haunted by an ancient evil. Adam Scott leads the cast, which includes Peter Coonan, David Wilmot and Mallory Adams.

Finally, “Project Hail Mary” landed at No. 5, grossing $2.2 million. Its North American total should hit $318 million by Sunday after adding $8.9 million through the weekend.

- Variety