There is something a little strange about the opening weekend for Practical Magic 2.
On one hand, Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman returned as the Owens sisters and immediately landed at the top of the box office. That sounds like a win.
On the other hand, the numbers suggest Warner Bros. may need the sequel to stick around for quite a while before anyone starts celebrating too much.
According to Variety, Practical Magic 2 opened with $30 million domestically and added another $16 million internationally, giving the movie a $46 million worldwide start. Not terrible. Just not quite the kind of opening you would expect to make everyone involved breathe easier.
Practical Magic 2 has a big advantage: people still love the original
It has been nearly three decades since audiences first met Sally and Gillian Owens.
The original Practical Magic wasn’t a runaway box office hit when it arrived in 1998. It opened with $13 million and eventually became something much more valuable to the movie’s legacy: a cult favorite.
Over the years, people kept discovering it. They watched it at home. They passed it along to friends. It became one of those movies that seemed to grow more popular long after its theatrical run had ended.
That affection is a huge reason a sequel could happen all these years later. Still, there is an interesting wrinkle when looking at the Practical Magic 2 box office numbers.
Variety notes that the original movie’s $13 million opening would be roughly $27 million when adjusted for inflation. That puts the sequel’s $30 million debut surprisingly close to where the first film started in today’s dollars.
For Warner Bros., that makes the next few weekends pretty important. The sequel reportedly cost around $75 million before global marketing expenses are added to the equation.
In other words, opening at No. 1 is nice. Staying there, or at least hanging around near the top, matters a lot more for the Practical Magic 2 box office run.
Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman brought the Owens sisters back
The biggest selling point was always going to be seeing Bullock and Kidman together again.
Practical Magic 2 moves the story forward while keeping the Owens family at its center.
This time, Sally and Gillian’s daughters begin uncovering family secrets as the curse that has followed the Owens women once again becomes a problem they have to confront.
Joey King and Maisie Williams join the cast, while Dianne Wiest and Stockard Channing return from the original movie. Susanne Bier directed the sequel.
Early audiences also appeared to include plenty of longtime fans, which makes sense considering how much of the sequel’s appeal is tied to nostalgia for the first movie. That may ultimately become the movie’s biggest strength.
People didn’t necessarily fall in love with Practical Magic during one weekend in 1998. They fell in love with it over time. Warner Bros. may be hoping history repeats itself a little faster this time.
Practical Magic 2 finally knocked Spider-Man out of first place
There is one accomplishment nobody can take away from the Owens sisters. They ended Spider-Man’s run at No. 1.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day dropped to second place after spending six weekends on top, adding another $8.6 million to an already enormous total.
The movie has earned $935 million domestically and $2.4 billion worldwide, according to Variety.
Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey wasn’t far behind for the weekend, adding another $8.1 million as its worldwide total climbed to $1.68 billion.
Coyote vs. Acme finished fourth, while Runner landed in fifth place.
The next few weeks will tell the story
Calling Practical Magic 2 a failure after opening at No. 1 would obviously be premature. It won the weekend. It reunited two stars audiences have associated with these characters for nearly 30 years. And it proved there is still plenty of affection for the Owens family.
But the movie also isn’t starting from a place where Warner Bros. can simply sit back and count the money.
A $46 million worldwide opening against a sizable production budget means the sequel needs something every studio wants but can’t manufacture overnight: word of mouth and staying power.
Maybe that is fitting. The first Practical Magic didn’t become beloved because of one huge weekend. It became beloved because people kept coming back to it.
Now we’ll find out whether Practical Magic 2 can pull off a little magic of its own.
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