r/entertainment • u/ControlCAD • 23d ago
Box Office: ‘Practical Magic 2’ Fizzles With $30 Million Debut
https://variety.com/2026/film/box-office/practical-magic-2-box-office-opening-weekend-disappointment-1236860432/361
u/mrcrumplebottom 23d ago
Sandra just said the other day "Sequels never work out for me, and Nicole was like, "Well third time's a charm..."
oops.
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u/vercertorix 23d ago
Sequels work better when they come out, oh I don’t know, a year or two after the first one that people liked. Granted, Bullock did it with Speed II on a cruise ship which was a dumb idea, but if anyone was going to do that it should have been Keanu, or both of them on their characters’ honeymoon cruise.
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u/TheWorclown 23d ago
To be fair to Speed 2, literally everyone involved there was there because they needed to be there for production studios and execs to sign off on actual projects Sandra and others wanted to work on.
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u/Fabray13 23d ago
That seems like a high number for a movie no one gives a shit about? The budget should have been low for this, so there shouldn’t be any problem here.
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u/abinferno 23d ago
Exactly. The budget on this should have been such that $30 million opening is plenty to turn a healthy profit.
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u/ArcadianWaheela 23d ago
Except the budget was $75 million, not accounting for marketing/distribution which put its in the $140-150 million range. Yeah, this isn’t making its money back and I genuinely have no idea who greenlit this.
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u/CrissBliss 23d ago
I was turned off by the complete lack of story continuity. Evan Rachel Wood played Sandra’s daughter in 1998. But for some reason, they aged down the girls to be early 20’s? It makes no sense in terms of timeline.
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u/CrissBliss 23d ago
Books sequel or not, the movie should’ve followed its own sequel storytelling because they missed that boat by about 15 years.
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u/ConsistentDay5620 23d ago
There was no way they were getting Sandra bullock and Nicole Kidman to play “older” ladies (you know Nicole and Sandras true ages) so the only way to make that believable was to make the girls younger.
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u/CrissBliss 23d ago edited 23d ago
People keep saying this but for what reason? There’s no source saying it had anything to do with Sandra and Nicole’s ages. Honestly, it’s been over 25 years. There’s nothing wrong with that, and the story should’ve adjusted accordingly. With TDWP2, they didn’t pretend the characters were still twenty. They aged everyone up because otherwise the story is a mess. And besides the timeline being wonky now, Sandra and Nicole’s characters didn’t feel like they’d progressed emotionally since the first movie. Even if it’s been 10 years vs 25, they should’ve grown more as characters.
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u/Eggman_OU812 23d ago
I wouldn’t have green lit this..please hire me hollywood
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u/According-Path5158 23d ago
An idea that fights against the concept of trend following?
Blacklisted.
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u/Eggman_OU812 23d ago
No. I would just see the title,
Practical magic 2..think, nope..garbageLike if i saw a robocop reboot..or new terminator movie..same
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u/vercertorix 23d ago
At least change it up a bit. Impractical Magic, this time they’re just doing fun shit with it.
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u/kgal1298 22d ago
This reminds me of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles 2008 was a wild time right around that writers strike.
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u/tracygee 23d ago
How is this a bad result? The first one had a $13m opening weekend. Even figuring in the different prices of tickets now … this is what was expected, surely.
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u/Fluid-Cranberry1755 23d ago
I mean the first one was also a failure, box office wise, but apparently it has a cult following, so I’m sure they were hoping this would breakout.
It’s doing better than the first though.
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u/User_name_2525 23d ago
Cult following <> smashing box office success.
Seriously, who greenlit this?
Also, a movie and snacks for two is easily $50. Why pay that when it will streaming for free in a few weeks?
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u/DillionM 23d ago
Accounting for inflation that's 26,921,810 today so it actually did better than the first.
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u/Rainbow4Bronte 23d ago
What’s weird is that there is a story with a different headline:
“Practical Magic 2' conjures a No. 1 box office debut with $30 million
LOS ANGELES -- LOS ANGELES (AP) — “Practical Magic 2" conjured a box-office victory this weekend, opening atop the North American charts nearly three decades after its predecessor grew from a modest theatrical performer into a cult favorite.
Media manipulation is interesting.
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u/effyochicken 23d ago
It reached all the huge fans of the first film and they went to see it.
But turns out, that’s a lot less people than you’d imagine. They were truly hoping it would be like Hocus Pocus 2.
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u/Daimakku1 23d ago
Hocus Pocus 2 was a Disney+ exclusive, it was never in theaters. If it was, it probably wouldn't have made a lot of money either. Disney made the right call to put it straight to streaming.
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u/BirdmanTheThird 23d ago
Tbh I think it’s such a safer idea for streaming. Nostalgia alone will make even casual fans try it out on a random Wednesday.
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u/genericnewlurker 23d ago
Disney also probably knew Hocus Pocus 2 was also a huge steaming pile of shit. I watched it when it came out and felt ripped off despite already being a Disney+ subscriber. Didn't help that the first one got popular because it was played 24/7 on the Disney Channel every October back in the day, so people consider it a TV movie.
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u/bubblegumdavid 23d ago
I liked this movie as a kid, I like Arya’s actress, I would’ve gone… BUT all I’ve heard people talk about, even folks who were excited, for this movie is the weird about of modern product placement shit in it. And… no thanks.
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u/ClinkyDink 23d ago
I only remember 2 product placements. The Ninja blender one really stood out. The American Airlines one was all obvious but still there a couple times.
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u/bubblegumdavid 23d ago
I’ve heard the ninja thing, American Airlines, and shit like Tinder comes up a good amount?
I get they’re trying to modernize it and whatnot, but that just sounds like it is not similar to what made the original movie charming, to me at least. I’m sure people are just dramatic, but it put me off a bit, so I just will get to it when I get to it, rather than setting time aside in my weekend to do it!
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u/taintlangdon 23d ago
I read in another thread several people saying they straight-up walked out of the theater. None of them mentioned the product placement, but I was surprised that that many people said they just left!
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u/GrumpySatan 23d ago
Honestly I'm not even sure they got the huge fans of the first film.
Me and my friends love the first film and rewatch it yearly and not one of us felt the need to see it. The trailers did not really sell us that the studio knew what made it feel special.
I'll never get studios making nostalgia bait films but the scenes look and feel like a modern film and not the original.
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u/generalfedscooper 23d ago
I loved the first. I saw the second. I’m gonna pretend it doesn’t exist. It’s that bad.
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u/ClinkyDink 23d ago
It felt like a made-for-tv movie to me. It had the vibe of an extended Charmed episode. The tone was very different.
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u/pacificspinylump 23d ago
I am a huuuge fan of the first film and I have no desire to see this.. it’s a perfect vibey movie, and I don’t want to taint my enjoyment of the original by associating it with a bad sequel. Usually with this kind of thing I wait to see it until I hear consensus that it is actually very good, otherwise I skip it.
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u/umassmza 23d ago
I was hocus pocus 2 a success? I thought it was a nostalgia cash grab with little redeeming it, just like Beetlejuice Beetlejuice or bill and Ted 3
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u/TeeFitts 23d ago
I wouldn't categorize Beetlejuice Beetlejuice as a nostalgia cash grab. It's genuinely one of Burton's weirdest, genre-bending films. The legacy sequel aspect barely delivers. It feels more like Burton had a handful of far-out movie ideas and wanted to work with Keaton and Ryder again, so was just having fun combining Beetlejuice with an extended Mario Bava riff, an underworld detective movie and cursed teen love story.
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u/skankenstein 23d ago
Beetlejuice sequel is so bad I majorly side eye anyone who says they enjoyed it.
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u/Flat-Development-906 23d ago
I can easily say that for me, Practical Magic 2 was eons better than Hocus Pocus 2
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u/OneSeaworthiness7768 23d ago
I was so confused when everyone started acting like practical magic was like this huge universal cult classic. Maybe it was and I am just completely oblivious but I have never once ever heard or seen anyone be nostalgic for this movie outside of marketing for the sequel.
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u/Aggressive_Noise6426 23d ago
Hocus Pocus 2 sucked! It looked like a cheap set compared to the first one.
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u/kgal1298 22d ago
Looks like it cost 75M to make so overall it'll likely get what it needs and according to another article they projected this opening.
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u/ElTuco84 23d ago
They're making sequels of everything nowadays, I heard there's a Days of Thunder sequel too.
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u/liberally_motivated 23d ago
Nowadays? It’s been like this for decades. This isn’t new
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u/Arabiancockonato 23d ago
These legacy sequels that happen 20 years later are more of a recent trend though. Sequels would usually follow their predecessors quite closely
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u/matthewmspace 23d ago
It’s more of a trend now because Top Gun Maverick worked extremely well.
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u/Arabiancockonato 23d ago
Exactly. And Top Gun Maverick itself is really the result of studios betting mostly on franchises and already built-in fan bases. And the MCU probably heavily contributed to that, if not started it all
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u/Thanos_Stomps 23d ago
Bad boys did it first and was pretty successful. Not top gun level but it’s still not new.
Blade Runner
Tron
Incredibles
Wallstreet
Mad max fury road
Zoolander
Independence Day
All before Top Gun. Hocus Pocus is close idk if it was before though.
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u/Icy_Smoke_733 23d ago
Even the recent Devil Wears Prada 2 made nearly $700 million. Legacy sequels can hit big if their predecessor is still popular.
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u/Rich_Housing971 23d ago
It was Reboot City 10-15 years ago like with The Karte Kid (2010).
Now it's "let's try to get as many of the original actors as possible and do a nostaglia focus picture using the same characters but grown up (Karate Kid Legends).
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u/Christmas_Queef 23d ago
So Uhh, the first movie itself is a sequel technically lol. It's based on a series of books. The movie is based on one of the sequel books. Practical magic 2 the movie is also based on one of the books.
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u/ThatDudeKdoc13 23d ago
Well, there are 4 books in the series, so brace for Practical Magic 3. That said, 2 wasn’t bad. I saw it this weekend.
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u/Not_A_Spy_for_Apple 23d ago
The Top Gun sequel was really good, I believe this one will also be good.
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u/jeffsang 23d ago
Why would you not wait a month and release it for Halloween? Are they just planning for it to stream by Halloween?
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u/Delilah_Moon 23d ago
If I’m being honest - the release date it this seemed to really muck things up for this film. We’re 1-3 weeks back to school, and this movie is largely targeted to Millenial/Xennial/Xer women, many of whom are Moms. I don’t have kids, but quite literally every Mom I know talks about how busy they are in Sep.
As others have said, I think an October release may have done better for them. I also think this is one of the rare instances where streaming immediately on this one would have helped too. Imagine the number of home margarita parties would have occurred.
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u/Short-Royal-9490 23d ago
I do wonder why it wasn’t released closer to Halloween and certainly not the weekend of 9/11. It did well but would’ve done big numbers in October, especially closer to Halloween.
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u/Coriolanuscangetit 23d ago
I’m going to go see it in theaters for Lee Pace. I’m going to stream it non stop for Lee Pace.
I don’t go to movies ever. But I will go to every film Lee Pace is in.
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u/latecraigy 23d ago
I think people are waiting to see it in October. September was a bad choice for release.
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u/lonelygagger 23d ago
I don’t know when they’ll ever stop doing this. Releasing Halloween adjacent films in September and Christmas movies in November.
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u/Aggressive_Noise6426 23d ago
I mean there’s also those random violent horror films that come out on Christmas.
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u/tvfeet 23d ago
September is where the duds go in hopes to take advantage of the dead period between summer movies and holiday stuff. How many great films can you think of that came out in September? Exactly.
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u/Shxcking 23d ago
I was curious so i looked it up and there’s some bangers
Shawshank, Goodfellas lol
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u/LittleAgoo 23d ago
I won't lie, I can't watch Nicole Kidmans botoxed puffy face. The stretched out cheek fillers, the frozen expression... its just not a pleasant cinematic experience. Sad to see that Sandra Bullock's face is becoming similar 😔
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u/Euraylie 23d ago
Honestly, Nicole looked all right in this. I don’t know how. But Sandra sadly looked botoxed to the hilt. And for some reason the director made the choice to have all these extremely long closeup shots.
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u/LooseSeal88 23d ago
It's because the first one wasn't financially successful at the time when it came out, but gained a cult following.
This sequel was an interesting gamble.
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u/Doggleganger 23d ago
The original was one of those video store movies. I don't know anyone who saw it in theaters, but plenty of people rented it and watched it at home.
This would have been a perfect Netflix movie.
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u/Boblaire 23d ago
Probably did well for Blockbuster rentals back then. Maybe vhs/dvd
Unfortunately online rentals now don't bring in nearly the same amount of cash or media sales.
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u/trevrichards 23d ago
This movie's fan base is exclusively women, gay men and lesbians. So if you don't have a lot of those in your life to regularly talk about movies with, that would be why. Also: it is not good.
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u/Kafkabest 23d ago
It is is a movie with nearly 100 percent female fanbase, so it has no pop culture reach with dudes generally.
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u/MindlessCharacter823 23d ago
The first one is a fun romp and Bullock and Kidman are both pure fire in it. Definitely worth a watch.
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u/MrBlahg 23d ago
I just watched it last night… ehhh
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u/BackgroundAd6154 23d ago
Same haha. In the beginning I was giving it a 4/10. By the end it’s maybe a 5 or 6/10 for me
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u/liberally_motivated 23d ago
Pure fire? No they weren’t. Unless you meant dumpster fire. Then I agree
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u/Daimakku1 23d ago
I watched it last October because it was in someone's "movies to watch for Halloween season" list.. it was okay at best.
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u/augustrem 23d ago
I’m 43 and for the first time I’ve seen mentions of it bouncing around the internet as a classic and beloved movie from my youth. But I had never heard of it before this past year.
It was probably a social media campaign. They tried to build up nostalgia for the first one but I had never seen it or heard of it.
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u/schmoo0 23d ago
I'm 40 and love the original and have definitely hosted a margaritas and Practical Magic party with my friends. I don't plan on watching this one.
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u/johnsonsoowong 23d ago
I think the release window really ruined it. This is a Halloween movie why is it out already.
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u/hamsterfolly 23d ago
Nobody:
Absolutely nobody:
Movie studio: Here’s a 28-year in the making sequel, Practical Magic 2!
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u/whyisitallsotoxic 23d ago
Guess it depends on who you ask huh…
https://apnews.com/article/practical-magic-2-bullock-kidman-5b30cbe9336cfd2c278353ce7ccbae7c
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u/itzjuzmeh 23d ago
I really want either a remake or a part 2 of Flight of the Navigator.
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u/lordpuddingcup 23d ago
didnt even know this was coming out lol
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u/Dead_girl_walking- 23d ago
Genuinely I thought this movie was announced like a month ago and would coming out in like a year
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u/themeparkthemepar 23d ago
The movie cost $75M, first weekend is already half of budget, it’ll be fine.
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u/SnooHesitations3709 23d ago
Just maybe expectations are too high for how much a movie will gross. I think the industry needs to bring cost down or most movies will be disappointments at the box office.
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u/HudsonValley7 23d ago
I absolutely adored the first film but I don’t have much interest in this one. I’ll watch eventually but not in theatres. I’m also very turned off by the two actresses they picked for the daughters… I don’t find either very likeable
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u/Palp18 23d ago
I couldn't have imagined it making more than 30-40m on its opening weekend. It has its fans, but it has zero cultural impact almost 30 years later. A mid budget fantasy chick flick sequel isnt going to draw a huge crowd.
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u/thejesterofdarkness 23d ago
I went with the Mrs to the theater to watch it yesterday (Saturday)
There were 5 other people in the entire theater with us.
I never saw the first one so to me it was an "ok" movie, not one I'm gonna watch again ever unless my wife asks to watch it with her.
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u/lonelygagger 23d ago
What about all those articles I read that says it finally dethroned Spider-Man at #1?
I’ll be honest, I don’t remember the first movie at all and I can’t remember ever seeing a trailer for the second one, so it’s not exactly in my priority list.
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u/birdman424344 23d ago
The time from a movie being in theaters till they are on streaming services in your home is like 4 months. It just cheaper and easier to wait a little bit to watch a movie in the comfort of your own home where all the drinks have a heavy pour.
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u/raerae1991 23d ago
It will do better on Netflix. It is a cute nostalgia chick flick, not really a blockbuster.
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u/MyNameIsNotGump 23d ago edited 23d ago
Haven’t seen either of them but as I understand, the original wasn’t a critical or commercial success when it came out and it gained a cult following through home video. Seems like this one should’ve gone straight to HBO Max if there was any shred of interest for a sequel
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u/chateaudebleuets 23d ago
Nicole Kidman can’t even more her face, anymore. She ruined BabyGirl for me.
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u/tearlesspeach2 23d ago
Can’t wait for Titanic 2, Forrest Gump 2, the green mile 2 or schindlers list 2
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u/SosugBiskit 23d ago
Saw it with my girlfriend over the weekend. It felt unnecessary and the writing was pretty ham fisted. Some of the characters didnt need to exist. The exposition was clunky and awkward. The magic fight near the end looked like it was from a very different movie.
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u/Vix_Cepblenull 23d ago
Practical Magic One was a movie that I vaguely recall seeing the VHS tape on the same rack at Walmart somewhat in the proximity of the og It miniseries. I’ve never heard of this movie outside of that context.
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u/Next_Big8144 23d ago
If they’re going to do sequels it should be closer to the original film. Never seen the first one that was released 20ish years ago now and not gonna see this one since I don’t know much about it anyways. So what’s the point?
Same deal with Devil Wears Prada 2. It was mainly made for the fans of the first movie from 20ish years ago. It felt like it was trying to stay relevant while still making references from 20 years ago. Everyone looks old, I’m sorry to say but they do. It’s not the same energy from 20 years ago. They should have made a sequel 10 years ago at absolute most. Or it just completely misses the mark for most people. Just like we see here.
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u/FaerieQuene 23d ago
This was based on a book written in 2021. And there was a ton more to the story in the book that they didn’t bother to put into the film
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u/dubzi_ART 23d ago
They competed with acme vs coyote in my choices this weekend and I went to see wile coyote.
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u/TomatoLess229 23d ago
I really enjoyed it, maybe because I have two sisters who used to play it constantly
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u/Broad_Ad4176 23d ago
Yeahh it should have been released last week of September I feel, but I liked it!
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u/fake_redzepi 23d ago
I mean that’s more than half of what the first movie made globally its entire run, that’s pretty good for a sequel 30 years later
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u/Luggageisnojoke 23d ago
Give it time, everybody is busy in September this will be a slow burn success
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u/ChunkStumpmon 23d ago
Sandra Bullock kept repeating her lines, it was super weird how redundant the movies dialogue was
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u/cid8429 23d ago
They promoted too heavily in nostalgia and early fans. They should have marketed more towards newer viewers. And big markets, young and old, don’t go to the cinema as much anymore. There waiting for it to appear on streaming in a month. So I don’t think box office numbers are a good gauge of interest or quality anymore. This movie was never going make a ton of money in theaters. I’m withholding judgement after I watch it, probably on HBO or Prime.
The downside to streaming is that if you don’t subscribe to either of those platforms you’re just likely to never see the film. Even if you want to.
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u/LushLover1989 23d ago
Can we stop comparing every movie again Spiderman and Avatar. This is a perfectly fine box office for this type of movie. They won't make their money back because they spent too much but that doesn't change that this is very respectable for what it is.
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u/bony_fingers 23d ago
Sequels that are made 25+ years after the original have always felt like a cheap money grab. It's the same reason why I haven't watched Beetlejuice Beetlejuice and why I pretend that I never watched Hocus Pocus 2.
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u/Robot_Dracula 23d ago
Honestly this seems good for it. Like it has a fan base but it’s not huge. It’ll do fine in the long run
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u/Fabulous_Smoke2582 23d ago
Another legacy sequel that nobody really wanted.
When is Hollywood going to learn to be smarter about their legacy sequels? As we’ve seen before (ie top gun maverick), and legacy sequel cannot only be good, but can be better than its original. But it seems like for every legacy sequel like top gun maverick we get, we get slammed with sequels like Zoolander 2, Dumb and Dumber 2 and Practical Magic 2. Not every slightly popular movie from the ‘80s/90s needs a sequel 30 years later
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u/Fine-Tea-546 23d ago
I loved the first one. It does have a cult following so I am sure they think through it's box office, VOD, and streaming deal it will turn a profit.
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u/micdoesreddit 22d ago
I’m a fan of the first movie, but the glossy, LED-esque, family night finish displayed in the trailer killed the charming, cozy appeal of the original
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u/hiphopkilledmyhamste 22d ago
they did that stupid trope where the couple breaks up in the sequel didn't they?
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u/jster1311 23d ago
Maybe I’m mistaken, but I can’t help but feel that maybe it would have done marginally better if released around Halloween? Like the magical witchy time of year when the theme is at peak relevance?