Dianne Wiest, Sandra Bullock, Stockard Channing and Nicole Kidman in “Practical Magic 2.”
Warner Bros. Pictures
Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman’s Practical Magic 2 opened in theaters over the weekend, 28 years after the original film. How did the sequel open at the box office in comparison to 1998 original?
Directed by Susanne Bier, Practical Magic 2 begins in the same small Massachusetts town as the original, where witches Sally (Bullock) and Gillian (Kidman) Owens were raised by their aunts Franny (Stockard Channing) and Jet (Dianne Wiest).
While the residents who spurned the witches in the original came to embrace their magical powers, the “Owens Curse” that has plagued generations of the witches remains in Practical Magic 2. In short, any man an Owens woman falls in love with is doomed — and as Sally finds out in the sequel, the curse has been passed on when one of her adult daughters experiences a tragedy that threatens her boyfriend.
With the release of Practical Magic 2 in theaters this weekend, Bullock, Kidman and the franchise’s studio, Warner Bros. (and production company Alcon Entertainment), are attempting to break another curse that began in 1998 with the release of the original film. As beloved as the film has become among fans thanks to the film’s enduring popularity on home video, Practical Magic was not a box office hit. Generally, that means a film like Practical Magic is a one-and-done and remains nothing but a footnote in cinematic history.
Something different happened with Practical Magic, though, as the film cast a spell on fans that’s held strong for nearly three decades running. Naturally, it helps that Bullock and Kidman are A-list stars, but the fact that author Alice Hoffman has kept the story of the Owens sisters alive surely had a lot to do with the production of the sequel.
Practical Magic is based on Hoffman’s novel of the same name that was released in 1995, while the fourth book in the series, The Book of Magic, serves as the basis of Practical Magic 2. For those wondering why the new film’s story wasn’t based on Hoffman’s two books in between, 2017’s The Rules of Magic and 2020’s Magic Lessons are prequel novels to the original Practical Magic.
How Did ‘Practical Magic’ Perform In Theaters?
Released on Oct. 16, 1998, Practical Magic made $13.1 million from 2,652 North American theaters.
Eventually, the film earned $46.7 million from North American venues and $47.7 million in international ticket sales for a worldwide box office tally of $94.4 million against a production budget of $75 million before prints and advertising costs, according to Box Office Mojo. However, other outlets, including IndieWire, are reporting that the production budget was $60 million before P&A.
Since theater owners keep about half of any given film’s ticket sales, that means, according to Box Office Mojo’s numbers, that the film ended up making $47 million at the box office, $28 million shy of the film’s production budget.
Since production budgets for films don’t include marketing expenses, residuals and other expenses, there’s no question that 1998’s Practical Magic — as much as it was loved by its diehard fan base — was a major bust in theaters.
How Did ‘Practical Magic 2’ Perform In Its Opening Weekend?
Despite the negative reviews that bombarded Practical Magic 2 (the original was crushed by critics as well), Practical Magic 2 defied critics and earned an estimated $30 million from 4,146 North American theaters.
Adjusting the 1998 film’s first weekend box office of $13.1 million for inflation — which is roughly $26.8 million — the sequel’s $30 million performance at the outset seems to have more potential than the original.
In addition, per IndieWire, Practical Magic 2 earned an estimated $16 million internationally, which boosts the film’s opening weekend box office tally to $46 million.
Since Practical Magic 2 has a $75 million budget before P&A, per IndieWire, the sequel no doubt has its work cut out for it in the coming weeks as it strives toward profitability. It won’t be easy. On Sept. 17, Weapons writer-director Zach Cregger’s reboot of Resident Evil opens, followed by Brad Pitt’s Heart of the Beast, Robert Pattinson’s Primetime and Avengers: Endgame Encore on Sept. 25.
Practical Magic 2 is new in theaters, while the original Practical Magic is streaming on HBO Max.
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