Devil Wears Prada 2 Crosses $433 Million as Disney Dominates 2026

Disney Hits $2 Billion at the 2026 Box Office Before Summer Even Starts

The Devil Wears Prada 2 held the top spot at the domestic box office for a second consecutive weekend, adding $43 million domestically on a decline of just 44%, according to MickeyBlog. Globally, the sequel has now grossed $433 million, surpassing the entire lifetime haul of the 2006 original, which earned $326 million worldwide. That kind of hold in week two, against fresh competition from Mortal Kombat II, Sheep Detectives, and the Billie Eilish concert film, signals genuine audience enthusiasm rather than opening-weekend curiosity.

WDW News Today notes that the sequel's performance has made Disney the first studio to reach $2 billion in 2026 global box office revenue. Consider the calendar. It is mid-May. The traditional summer blockbuster corridor has not even begun in earnest. For Disney's theatrical division, which spent years navigating post-pandemic audience shifts and streaming cannibalization questions, this is a decisive statement that event-level sequels with beloved casts still pack theaters.

The film reunites Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt, Meryl Streep, and Stanley Tucci nearly twenty years after they first walked the sleek offices of Runway Magazine. MickeyBlog reports that strong reviews from both critics and audiences have bolstered the sequel's staying power. The question now is how high the ceiling goes as it plays through May and into June with relatively light competition on the horizon, as it already turns a profit for Disney.

The Parks

Walt Disney World announced a $1.3 million investment in Central Florida education programs ahead of Cool KIDS' SUMMER, the resort's seasonal initiative for families with young children. Disney Parks Blog reports that the donation supports school districts across Orange, Osceola, Lake, Polk, and Seminole counties, along with nonprofits including Elevate Orlando, A Gift for Teaching, and programs like Disney Musicals in Schools through the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts. The funding targets STEM, literacy, and arts education. Disney also surprised local elementary schools with visits from the Goof Troop, giving kindergarten and pre-K students a preview of GoofyCore activities coming to EPCOT this summer. Educators at the schools received Walt Disney World tickets for their families. Cool KIDS' SUMMER runs at Walt Disney World from May 26 through September 8.

Over at Magic Kingdom, BlogMickey reports that Disney has completed installation of tall paneled construction walls along much of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad's perimeter. The attraction reopened on May 3, 2026, after a 16-month refurbishment that included new track, updated ride vehicles, enhanced Rainbow Caverns, and a lowered height requirement of 38 inches. The walls are designed to screen views of the massive construction zones for Piston Peak National Park and Villains Land, both being built on the former site of the Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island, which closed in July 2025. BlogMickey notes the walls have a rough-hewn wood aesthetic that blends reasonably well with Big Thunder's Western theming, though guests at the top of the lift hill can still peer over them into the active site, where concrete pipes, heavy equipment, and early-stage infrastructure work are visible.

Meanwhile, Lightning Brain's daily park report for May 10 paints a picture of a choppy operational Sunday at Magic Kingdom. Space Mountain went down three separate times across the afternoon and evening, totaling more than four hours offline. TRON Lightcycle / Run added to the disruption with two closures of its own, and Haunted Mansion had two separate shutdowns between 4 and 8 PM. Country Bear Musical Jamboree went down three times in the evening and did not reopen for the night. With two of the park's highest-demand attractions simultaneously unavailable during peak hours, Magic Kingdom came in at a 4/10 (Moderate) with a median wait of just under 14 minutes. Several Fantasyland attractions posted waits at or below five minutes, suggesting guests were not clustering anywhere in particular. Conditions were warm, hitting a high of 91 degrees, with brief rain bands passing through after park opening and again in mid-afternoon.

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EPCOT told a different story entirely. Lightning Brain reports it was the busiest park on property Sunday, landing at a 5/10 (Average) with a median wait just over 18 minutes, roughly 21% above its 30-day baseline. The Flower and Garden Festival continues to draw guests, and the data reflects a festival crowd that grazes through the morning before peaking at 1 PM.

WDW News Today reports that Hondo Ohnaka steals the Millennium Falcon in a first look at an updated preshow on Smugglers Run in Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge. The same outlet notes that latest aerial photos show DinoLand U.S.A. facade transformations taking shape at Disney's Animal Kingdom as Tropical Americas construction progresses, and that renovation work is expanding across Disney's Wilderness Lodge with walkway closures and exterior updates. The Crew's Cup Lounge has also reopened with a remodel as Yachtsman Steakhouse closes, per WDW News Today.

Across the Atlantic, Disneyland Paris offered a rare behind-the-scenes look at how it prepared Cast Members for the opening of World of Frozen at Disney Adventure World. Disney Experiences reports that nearly 15 months before opening day, the resort launched an ambitious recruitment effort combining internal mobility, targeted recruitment, and a European casting tour to welcome more than 1,200 Cast Members into new roles. Thousands auditioned during summer 2025, and 350 were selected to become Arendelle's "villagers." Each received what became known as the "letter from the village," an invitation written in character by Fredrik, royal emissary of Queens Anna and Elsa. Cast Members also received name badges identifying them as Arendellians. Cast Member Dorine Hermier, an Attractions Operator and Trainer, described being chosen for the opening guest flow team as a "heart-stopping surprise." World of Frozen opened its gates on March 29, 2026, and three weeks in, the preparation is paying off in what Disney Experiences calls seamless storytelling from day one.

Shanghai Disneyland is celebrating the 10th anniversary of Shanghai Disney Resort with new parade additions. WDW News Today reports that a Duffy and Friends FriendSHIP! float now serves as a special pre-parade ahead of Mickey's Storybook Express, featuring all seven friends in new birthday costumes aboard a pastel-colored ship that trails bubbles along the parade route. A brand-new Zootopia float also joins the parade, with Judy, Nick, Gary, and Clawhauser appearing alongside Gazelle's tour bus.

The Screen

Beyond the box office dominance of Devil Wears Prada 2, Disney made a significant content play this week in the music documentary space. The Walt Disney Company announced a landmark Oasis documentary from BAFTA and Oscar-nominated writer, producer, and director Steven Knight, the creator of Peaky Blinders. The film, directed by Dylan Southern and Will Lovelace, charts Liam and Noel Gallagher's reunion tour Oasis Live '25 and features the first joint interviews with the brothers in over 25 years. The documentary will open in select IMAX and cinemas worldwide for a limited theatrical engagement beginning September 11 before streaming on Disney+ internationally and on Hulu and Disney+ in the U.S. later in the year.

"I genuinely cannot wait for the world to see this film," Knight said in the announcement. "I wanted to tell the story of the brothers and the band, but just as important, the story of the fans whose lives the music has touched and sometimes changed forever." Eric Schrier, President of Direct-to-Consumer International Originals, Strategic Programming, and Emerging Media, called the opportunity "incredibly rare," describing the film as an intimate story of reconciliation, the power of music, and Oasis, one of the most successful and influential acts of all time. Disney+ has been building a strong portfolio of premium music documentaries, and landing the Gallagher reunion story gives the platform one of the most culturally significant music events of the decade.

On a more somber note, the Star Wars community is mourning the loss of Michael Pennington, who played Death Star commander Moff Tiaan Jerjerrod in Return of the Jedi. MickeyBlog reports that Pennington passed away at 82, with the news confirmed by The Telegraph. A titan of the British stage who spent decades with the Royal Shakespeare Company and co-founded the English Shakespeare Company in 1986, Pennington was beloved by Star Wars fans despite his own self-deprecating take on the role. "I look at it now and I think I overact horribly and I can't even remember the storyline," he said in a 2012 interview. He also reflected on the film's enduring cultural grip: "Whenever I come out of the Stage Door after a performance, all people would ask about was Star Wars."

The Vault

The Durham Museum in Omaha opens Heroes and Villains: The Art of the Disney Costume on May 23, bringing nearly 70 ensembles spanning almost five decades of Disney film and television to Nebraska. D23 reports the exhibition, curated by the Walt Disney Archives, features original film-worn costumes from characters including Cinderella, Maleficent, Mary Poppins, Captain Jack Sparrow, and Aladdin. Guests can also step into "Cinderella's Workshop" to see how the character has been interpreted across different iterations, and the exhibition includes interviews and an exclusive video from Emmy and Academy Award-winning costume designers explaining how they expressed mood and motivation through craft. The Durham Museum will host Sunday matinee screenings of related films throughout the summer, starting with Cinderella (2015) on May 24. The exhibition runs through the summer of 2026.

WDW News Today also flagged a piece of Imagineering history worth seeking out: the fan film "Star Tours: Last Launch" featuring Disney Legend Tony Baxter is now available for viewing. And separately, the outlet reports that former Disney CEO Bob Iger received an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Howard University, adding an academic honor to a career that reshaped the company through acquisitions of Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm, and 21st Century Fox. A former Disney artist also shared previously unseen Three Caballeros Christmas program concept art, per WDW News Today, offering a glimpse at creative directions that never made it to screen.

Sources

MickeyBlog · MickeyBlog · WDW News Today · Disney Parks Blog · BlogMickey · Lightning Brain · Disney Experiences · The Walt Disney Company · D23 · WDW News Today