28 years later on, the follow up to a 1998 box-office flop is now No. 1

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Released Sep 27, 2026, 6:00 PM EDT

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When Practical Magic was launched in October 1998, there was little factor to anticipate the story of the Owens sis 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 revenues, 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 got in the HBO Max Top 10 soon after showing up on the service in 2024. That unanticipated renewal showed that veteran fans and brand-new audiences were purchased the story of witch sis Sally and Gillian Owens, who are pestered by a household curse that triggers any male they fall for to pass away.

Release Date

September 11, 2026

Runtime

130 Minutes

Director

Susanne Bier

Cast

• 

  Sandra Bullock

  Sally Owens

• Nicole Kidman

  Gillian Owens

• 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 challenging to describe what the motion picture really was. The story had witches, a love curse, and supernatural aspects, however it wasn’t truly a conventional dream film. It was likewise not a simple romantic funny, in spite 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 film an uncommon proposal for its time. In addition, all the crucial 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 ladies. The San Francisco Chronicle even explained the movie as uncommon since significant female characters were fronting the motion picture together. That appears unusually insulting, even by the requirements of the years.

In retrospection, that might have been the film’s greatest issue. Practical Magic was developed 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 exact same aspects that when impeded 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 latest generation of the Owens ladies as they attempt to break the love curse at last.

Practical Magic 2 provides 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 recognized, she takes a trip to England searching for Lockland Manor, where she fulfills a warlock with wicked objectives. Sally and Gillian (Kidman) follow, pulling the initial characters into a dispute much bigger than the one they dealt with in the very first motion picture.

The outcome is a follow up with its own story and brand-new characters to present. That suggested Practical Magic had both a factor to continue and an audience that recognized with where the story had actually begun. Still, the crucial 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 incomes 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 worldwide, offering it an international opening of roughly $46 million.

The film still reached number one at the domestic box workplace, which is a quite huge offer considering that it dismissed Spider-Man: Brand New Day at the same time. The Marvel Studios motion picture had actually handled to keep the leading area for 6 weeks before the Owens sis went back to movie theaters. By Sept. 22, Practical Magic 2 had actually made an excellent $ 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 possibility. Practical Magic was fortunate adequate to get a 2nd life.

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