And not just your typical slim, blonde white women either, the sequel to the 2012 sleeper hit, co-produced by star Channing Tatum, has an array of "queens".

Jada Pinkett Smith – in one of the best roles of her career, even better than The Nutty Professor – shines as a Hugh Hefner-type mogul who runs an exclusive male strip club while older and larger women – usually marginalised in Hollywood – are the focus in the majority of private dancer scenes.

"There are these queens and there are these kings who treat them like queens and I think it's a really funny message," Joe Manganiello, who plays Big Dick Richard, told Fairfax Media on the red carpet at the Australian premiere, where the mercury was low but the oestrogen was high.

"Some people have said it's very pro-feminist but I just think it's pro-people. Whoever you are and there's certainly a very diverse cast and everyone has something fun to do."

Fans had camped out overnight just to get a glimpse of Tatum and Manganiello in Sydney on Monday, while others travelled from as far as Brisbane and Geelong just to see the second instalment of the frisky film franchise.

The crux of this new story is essentially a Thelma & Louise-style road trip (minus the cliff and guns) where five male strippers are just trying to find themselves, and their most authentic stage personas, en route to a stripper convention.

This time around the star of the first film, Matthew McConaughey, is a distant memory but Manganiello manages to fill his comedic shoes and sequinned encrusted g-string.

Manganiello, who is engaged to Modern Family's Sofia Vergara, steals the show after taking drugs and dancing for a surly fuel station attendant to the strains of the Backstreet Boys before his final performance which involves a mock wedding and sex swing.

"That took weeks of practice. The actress was a pro throughout rehearsals, she didn't crack once," he said.

Will there be a Magic Mike XXXL?

"If you write it, I'll do another one," Tatum said.