Overview
- Practical Magic 2 opened in U.S. theaters on Sept. 10, with Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman reprising their roles and the film playing in roughly 4,000 locations including early Thursday previews.
- Industry trackers project a roughly $30 million to $40 million domestic opening and a $58 million to $63 million global start for the $75 million production, figures Warner Bros. hopes will help reverse its poor 2026 box-office performance.
- The sequel’s casting choice to replace the younger Owens with Joey King and Maisie Williams prompted public reactions from original child actors Evan Rachel Wood and Alexandra Artrip, who said they were not asked back; director Susanne Bier defended the decision as a timeline-driven recast.
- Critical response has been mixed and leans negative, with Rotten Tomatoes scores in the mid-30s, though reviewers consistently single out Bullock and Kidman’s chemistry and the film’s nostalgic production design as its chief strengths.
- Studios amplified a star-led marketing push — late-night appearances, fashion-forward premieres and press interviews — to turn streaming-era fandom for the 1998 original into theatrical turnout and to position the film as the start of a possible franchise.