Warner Bros. opened Practical Magic 2 at number one over the weekend of September 11 to 13, with a domestic debut of about $30 million from 4,146 theaters. The sequel reached cinemas on Wednesday, September 10, and its first place finish ended a stretch at the top of the chart for Spider-Man: Brand New Day. The opening landed at the lower end of pre-release forecasts, which had suggested the film could reach or pass that mark on the strength of its returning stars.
Overseas, the film collected roughly $16 million from 77 markets, for a global opening near $46 million. The international start came in below the studio’s own projection of $18 million to $23 million. With a reported production budget of $75 million, the film will depend on the weeks ahead to move toward theatrical profitability, and its hold through late September will shape how the release is judged.
Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman return as sisters Sally and Gillian Owens, the roles they played in the 1998 original. Susanne Bier directed the sequel, which draws on Alice Hoffman’s 2021 novel The Book of Magic. The supporting cast includes Joey King, Lee Pace, Maisie Williams and Xolo Maridueña, alongside returning players Dianne Wiest and Stockard Channing, who appeared in the first film as the sisters’ aunts.
Audience response ran ahead of the reviews. The film earned a B+ CinemaScore and a 92 percent audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with a PostTrak score of 4.5 out of 5. Critics were cooler, leaving the movie with a 37 percent critics score on Rotten Tomatoes. Gaps of that size are sometimes read as a sign that a release connected more with fans of the original than with reviewers, a pattern the marketing had leaned into.
The 1998 Practical Magic opened to modest numbers before finding a wider following on home video and television over the following years, where it became a seasonal favorite tied to the autumn season. Warner Bros. positioned the sequel for the same window nearly three decades later. The opening weekend gives the studio the top spot on the chart, though the coming holds will determine whether the film matches the long tail of its predecessor.
