The Devil Wears Prada 2 has delivered a huge reminder to advertisers that cinema remains one of the biggest channels in the market delivering mass-reach and high-attention.
Opening across Australia last week, the film stormed to a $13.1 million debut, marking the biggest opening weekend at the local box office in the past 12 months and the second-largest comedy launch of all time, after Barbie.
The film drew 547,000 admissions in its opening frame, with a striking 62 per cent of viewers coming from the hard-to-reach P25 – 54 demographic.
Val Morgan highlighted that in the year-to-date, admissions are up 13 per cent year-on-year, with growth across all major audience segments, including P14–39, families, and culturally and linguistically diverse audiences.
Audiences also included 69 per cent female, which ties in with major brand partnerships including L’Oréal Paris, Lancôme and TRESemmé.
Other partnerships include Smartwater, Diet Coke, Starbucks, Samsung Galaxy, Havaianas, Grey Goose, Google, Mercedes Benz, Tiffany & Co., Dior and Valentino fragrance.
‘A powerful time for brands’
Guy Burbidge, managing director of Val Morgan Cinema, said the film’s success reflects a wider shift in audience behaviour.
“The Devil Wears Prada 2 is another huge cultural moment – a great example of how nostalgic, quality content pulls in the big audiences,” he said.
“We’ve seen a run of record-breaking openings, the strongest Easter period in six years, and now continued growth across both box office and admissions year-on-year. That performance is being driven by broad audience growth across all key segments.”
“Combining this with the Cost of Dull research which highlighted the benefits for brands in using Cinema vs low attention formats reinforces why now is such a powerful time for brands to be on the big screen.”
“The months ahead will only build on this, with a strong slate of quality content and expanded opportunities beyond the screen,” he added.
