Nearly 28 years after Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman first stirred midnight margaritas as the cursed Owens sisters, Practical Magic 2 has finally hit U.S. theaters, and it's already stirring up a very different kind of magic at the box office.
The Magical Numbers
Directed by Susanne Bier and loosely adapted from Alice Hoffman's novel The Book of Magic, the sequel opened domestically to roughly $29–30 million, dethroning Spider-Man: Brand New Day after its six-week reign atop the charts. Add $16 million overseas, and you get a $46 million global debut—a real glow-up compared to the original's modest $13.1 million opening in 1998.
Still, it landed on the low end of Warner Bros.' own projections of $30–35 million, a reminder that nostalgia sells tickets but doesn't guarantee a runaway smash. As Forbes contributor Paul Tassi put it, the film is "heading toward a $30 million weekend, which is very strong," even as it braces for stiff competition from Zach Cregger's Resident Evil reboot the following week.
Critics vs. Audiences: A 57-Point Gap
Here's where things get genuinely fascinating. Practical Magic 2 pulled a brutal 36% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes, but audiences are obsessed — awarding it a stunning 93%. That's not just a good split; it's a record-setter. According to Tassi, it's now the highest-rated Rotten Tomatoes audience score of Nicole Kidman's, Sandra Bullock's, Joey King's, Maisie Williams', Lee Pace's, and director Susanne Bier's careers
Critics were split down the middle on the actual movie. IndieWire's Alison Foreman called the reunion between Bullock and Kidman "brilliantly constructed," though she noted the glossier budget sacrifices some of the "handmade quality" that made the original endure. The Daily Beast's Nick Schager went further, calling the sequel a "vast improvement" that's more coherent and polished than its predecessor.
Not everyone was charmed. Variety's Todd Gilchrist dismissed it as an "overlong, predictable sequel" that sidelines fan favorites Stockard Channing and Dianne Wiest, while praising newcomer Lee Pace as "magnetic" opposite Bullock. The Guardian summed up the tension well, calling it clear "nostalgia bait" that still manages to "cast a peculiar spell" despite an "irksome" fudged timeline.
Why This Sequel Hits Different
The story now centers on Sally's daughters, Kylie (Joey King, replacing Evan Rachel Wood) and Antonia (Maisie Williams), as three generations of Owens women race to break the family curse after a tragic accident. It's a clever generational handoff — swapping in Gen Z stars alongside the original A-listers — and it's clearly working with the people who matter most: the fans who kept this "flop" alive on cable and streaming for nearly three decades.
Bullock herself has been candid about how personal this comeback feels. She's spoken about the "trauma" of the original's brutal press tour, recalling how critics questioned "how many women" and "what kind of film" the 1998 movie even was. The sequel now leads the box office and has shattered career-best audience scores for its stars, which feels like poetic justice.
The Verdict
If you loved the original, Practical Magic 2 is essentially guaranteed comfort-watch material; Bullock and Kidman's chemistry is reportedly as strong as ever, and Lee Pace adds real spark. If you're coming in cold, though, the film leans hard on nostalgia and generational lore that newcomers might find tough to parse.
Either way, the Owens women have proven something Hollywood loves to forget: sometimes the "flop" becomes the classic, and the classic becomes the hit.
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