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Meryl Streep admitted she was on the verge of retirement when she was offered David Frankel’s seminal workplace dramedy The Devil Wears Prada (2006). But realizing the film wouldn’t be possible without her casting, she decided to negotiate her pay. She went on to prove her worth as the film, made on a budget of $35 million, amassed $326 million globally.
One would then imagine that given all the expectations and business prospects riding on the recently released, long-awaited sequel, The Devil Wears Prada 2, Meryl Streep’s pay would be in multiples of what she took home for the first part. However, that wasn’t exactly the case. In fact, Streep’s reported fixed salary for reprising her iconic role of Miranda Priestly in the sequel was just $12.5 million (Rs 118 crore), as per Variety.
One would wonder why after Streep, who demanded double the pay and reportedly earned $4 million to $5 million for the first part, would end up settling for only three times of that for the sequel, which released 20 years later. But the primary reason behind that is Streep’s gracious and generous move towards her far less experienced co-stars — Anne Hathaway and Emily Blunt.
Anne Hathaway, Meryl Streep, and Emily Blunt in The Devil Wears Prada.
Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, and Emily Blunt’s ‘favoured nations deal’
Meryl Streep reportedly struck a “favoured nations” deal with Anne Hathaway and Emily Blunt, who reprised their memorable roles of Andrea and Emily, respectively, in The Devil Wears Prada 2. They all agreed to take home the same amount of $12.5 million in order to ensure that the budget of the sequel doesn’t go beyond the $100 million (Rs 860 crore) mark. The film spent majority of its budget on the actors’ payroll.
Streep, who was already an A-list Hollywood star at the time of the first part, has went on to star in blockbusters like the Mamma Mia! franchise, Julie & Julia (2009), It’s Complicated (2009), The Iron Lady (2011), August: Osage County (2013), The Post (2017), Marry Poppins Returns (2018), and Little Women (2019).
Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, and Anne Hathaway in The Devil Wears Prada 2.
Hathaway and Blunt, who debuted in 2001 and 2004, respectively, have had their own share of blockbusters as well. Hathaway became one of the most bankable A-list stars with hits like Bride Wars (2009), Alice in Wonderland (2010), Love & Other Drugs (2010), The Dark Knight Rises (2012), Les Miserables (2012), Interstellar (2014), The Intern (2015), and Ocean’s 8 (2018). Similarly, Blunt has had blockbusters like Edge of Tomorrow (2014), The Girl on the Train (2016), A Quiet Place franchise, Mary Poppins Returns, Oppenheimer (2023), and The Fall Guy (2024) to her credit.
Bonuses beyond fixed pay
Their stellar filmographies then begs the question: why would they settle for only $12.5 million each, even though the joint goal was to keep the budget restricted to $100 million? Well, there’s a catch. The three primary cast members are also eligible to additional bonuses linked to the box office performance of the film.
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The Devil Wears Prada 2 has already amassed over $324 million at the global box office, surpassing the lifetime worldwide earnings of the first part already within its opening week itself. If this trajectory continues further, Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, and Emily Blunt are likely to earn bonuses worth at least $20 million (Rs 189 crore) each, more than $7.5 million (Rs 70 crore) than their fixed payout.
When Meryl Streep demanded double pay
In a recent episode of The Today Show, Meryl Streep opened up about demanding double the pay for The Devil Wears Prada.
She said, “I knew it was going to be a hit, and I wanted to see if I doubled my ask. And they went right away and said sure. And I thought, I’m 50, 60 — it took me this long to understand that I could do that. They needed me, I felt I was ready to retire. But, you know, that was a lesson.”
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