Science
Released Sep 27, 2026, 6:00 PM EDT
Charlene is a diverse author, editor, and popular culture lover. Over the previous 10 years, her work has actually been included in Glamour, GQ, HuffPost, Thought Catalog, The Sportster, We Got This Covered, The South African, and more.
When Practical Magic was launched in October 1998, there was little factor to anticipate the story of the Owens siblings to continue nearly 3 years later on. Regardless of the star power of Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman, and its$94.4 million worldwide ticket office incomes, the movie never ever seemed like an apparent franchise starter. Crucial understanding was likewise mainly unfavorable, with the movie making a 31% rating on Rotten Tomatoes
All of that altered when Practical Magic established a cult following years after its theatrical run ended. The film even went into the HBO Max Top 10 soon after showing up on the service in 2024. That unforeseen renewal showed that veteran fans and brand-new audiences were bought the story of witch siblings Sally and Gillian Owens, who are afflicted by a household curse that triggers any guy they fall for to pass away.
- Release Date
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September 11, 2026
- Runtime
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130 Minutes
- Director
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Susanne Bier
Cast
Sandra Bullock
Sally Owens
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Nicole Kidman
Gillian Owens
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Maisie Williams
Antonia Owens
The initial Practical Magic was challenging to offer in 1998
Audiences were not prepared for a film about witches
One factor Practical Magic had a hard time to discover a bigger audience at the time of its release might be that it was tough to describe what the motion picture in fact was. The story had witches, a love curse, and supernatural aspects, however it wasn’t actually a standard dream film. It was likewise not a simple romantic funny, regardless of 2 significant stars being at the center of the story.
Contemporary evaluates, like the one on RogerEbertconsistently detected that unpredictability, explaining the motion picture as a mix of love, funny, scary, and dream that did not constantly meshed. That made the motion picture an uncommon proposal for its time. Furthermore, all the essential characters were females.
Sally and Gillian were surrounded by their aunties, while the story focused greatly on the Owens household’s history and the relationships in between its females. The San Francisco Chronicle even explained the movie as uncommon due to the fact that significant female characters were fronting the film together. That appears strangely insulting, even by the requirements of the years.
In retrospection, that might have been the motion picture’s most significant issue. Practical Magic was constructed around female characters and an extremely particular sort of supernatural angle, however those qualities were not always what audiences were being motivated to try to find in a significant studio release in 1998. The very same components that as soon as prevented the movie would ultimately end up being a significant part of what made it distinct.
The follow up has a brand-new story to inform
The Book of Magic
What makes[Practical Magic 2 various from every other cash-grab-feeling follow up out there is the source product behind it. Alice Hoffman, who composed the book the very first film was based upon, released a follow up in 2021 called The Book of MagicThe story follows the most recent generation of the Owens ladies as they attempt to break the love curse at last.
Practical Magic 2 offers us a variation of that story, which begins when Sally’s (Bullock) 2nd hubby passes away. At the exact same time, her auntie Bridget (Dianne Wiest) finds the Book of Raven and discovers directions that might lastly break menstruation. The procedure is far more complex than following a couple of directions from a book.
When Sally’s child Kylie (Joey King) finds that there’s more to her wonderful heritage than she understood, she takes a trip to England looking for Lockland Manor, where she satisfies a warlock with wicked intents. Sally and Gillian (Kidman) follow, pulling the initial characters into a dispute much bigger than the one they dealt with in the very first film.
The outcome is a follow up with its own story and brand-new characters to present. That implied Practical Magic had both a factor to continue and an audience that recognized with where the story had actually begun. Still, the important reaction has actually been blended, with Practical Magic 2 presently holding a 36 % rating on Rotten Tomatoes and the website’s basic agreement stating it’s “not worth the trouble.”
Practical Magic 2 topped package workplace after a modest opening
The ticket sales inform a various story
Practical Magic 2 didn’t open with the type of profits that would typically specify a significant franchise revival. The follow up made around$ 30 million in the United States throughout its opening weekend, listed below the approximately $40 million predicted before release. It likewise made around$16 million globally, providing it an international opening of roughly $46 million.
The motion picture still reached number one at the domestic box workplace, which is a quite huge offer because it dismissed Spider-Man: Brand New Day while doing so. The Marvel Studios motion picture had actually handled to keep the leading area for 6 weeks before the Owens siblings went back to movie theaters. By Sept. 22, Practical Magic 2 had actually made a remarkable $ 78.4 million internationally.
This shows that in some cases a film simply requires time to discover the audience it was expected to have. Practical Magic might not have actually made the effect Warner Bros. anticipated in 1998, however that did not stop individuals from ending up being connected to the story ultimately. There are great deals of films that get dismissed and never ever get another opportunity. Practical Magic was fortunate adequate to get a 2nd life.
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