‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’ Is Drawing Tourists to Milan

“The Devil Wears Prada 2” is making a heavenly impact on Milan.

Just a few months after the theatrical release in May of the long-awaited sequel to “The Devil Wears Prada” – that was partly shot in Italy’s fashion capital that serves as a glitzy backdrop for the film’s third act – pedestrian traffic from international visitors at the movie’s main Milan locations has risen by 18% compared with the previous period, according to a study by the Cities Analytics platform.

The sequel to the cult classic starring Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Stanley Tucci and Emily Blunt, which features high-profile local cameos, including Donatella Versace and a live-shot Dolce & Gabbana fashion show, is considered the main driver to the influx of approximately 1.5 million international tourists expected to flock to the center of Milan during the summer quarter. More that 451,000 are expected in August alone, says the study released by the local small businesses association Confcommercio Milano, carried out using the Cities Analytics platform.

Confcommercio Milano chief Marco Barbieri said the study “confirms a structural growth trend in international tourism in central Milan,” since the “Devil Wears Prada 2” release, with foreign visitors increasing “by an average of 28,500 per month.”

The main visitors to Milan prompted by the “Devil Wears Prada 2” effect are Americans, followed by French and British, according to the study.

As for locations, the most notable rise was recorded between the city’s Largo Cairoli square and Palazzo Clerici, within Milan’s quadrilatero della moda luxury shopping district that features in the film (+24%); followed by Galleria Vittorio Emanuele-Duomo (+17%) where Miranda Priestly has a reflective late-night sequence; the Brera Academy (+14%), where Miranda organises one of the film’s most spectacular events, with strobe lights and sequins amidst the Caravaggios; However the interior of Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper Museum was replicated on a soundstage, since the lighting from the production would have damaged the real painting; and via Montenapoleone (+13%) the iconic street featuring the dining spot tucked away in a Renaissance courtyard where Emily (Emily Blunt) has lunch with Donatella Versace, played by the designer herself.

After becoming a box office hit following its May 1 release in the U.S. (and April 29 in Italy), reaching $220.6 million in the U.S. and $691.4 million globally on a budget of $100 million, “Devil Wears Prada 2” reached 15.2 million views globally in its first five days of streaming since July 29 on Disney+ and Hulu, marking Disney’s biggest live-action movie premiere since “Deadpool & Wolverine.”