Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock in “Practical Magic 2.”
Warner Bros. Pictures
Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman’s Practical Magic 2 arrives on digital streaming this week after — like its 1998 predecessor — an underwhelming run at the domestic and worldwide box office.
The original Practical Magic — starring Bullock and Kidman as sisters Sally and Gillian Owens, orphaned witches who confront a centuries-long family curse — was dismissed by critics. Worse yet, the film only earned $46.8 million domestically and $21.4 million internationally for a worldwide box office official tally of $68.3 million before marketing costs.
Since the original film had a $60 million production budget, Practical Magic ended up being a big miss for its studio, Warner Bros., since traditionally 50% of any given film’s ticket sales go to theater owners. As such, Practical Magic was left with roughly $26 million in the red, and that didn’t include whatever the studio spent on marketing, residuals and other expenses.
As such, the studio had no sound reason to produce a Practical Magic sequel, that is, until the film found a massive following on home video and Bullock and Kidman’s support to reunite to make it happen.
“When it caught its wave with those who were supposed to find it, and they were able to coven and communicate with social media, everyone found each other, and we didn’t realize how big that audience was,” Bullock told People in early September.
Kidman added in the People interview that fans “championed it together completely, which was amazing.”
“It was sort of like this groundswell of sisterhood that just went, ‘No, this is our film. We love it. We rewatch it over and over again, and you have to make it,’” Kidman told People.
Finally, 28 years after the release of the original, the Owens sisters are back with Practical Magic 2. Directed by Susanne Bier, the film opened in theaters on Sept. 10. And while the Practical Magic sequel earned more at the box office than the original — before factoring in inflation — like the 1998 classic, it still struggled financially.
As of Oct. 9, Practical Magic 2 has earned $66.2 million domestically and $36 million internationally for a running global box office take of $102.2 million. However, since the sequel had a $75 million production budget before marketing and other expenses and again, half of the ticket sales go to theater owners, Practical Magic 2 is currently in the red.
However, since audiences saved the original Practical Magic movie 30 years ago, can they do it again with the sequel? We’ll soon find out when the film arrives on digital streaming via premium video on demand this week.
‘Practical Magic 2’ Arrives On PVOD On Tuesday
Based on Alice Hoffman’s 2021 novel The Book of Magic, Practical Magic 2 is set 25 years after the events of the 1998 film.
Joining Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman as Sally and Gillian Owens in the sequel are Dianne Wiest and Stockard Channing, reprise their roles from the original as the Owens’ sisters’ aunts, Jet and Franny. Sally’s daughters Kylie and Antonia, who are now adults, are played in the sequel by Joey King and Maisie Williams, respectively.
In the new film, Sally and Gillian find out that the Owens family curse— which dooms any man they fall in love with — is alive and well when Kylie professes her love for her boyfriend, Gideon (Xolo Maridueña) is in a life-threatening accident.
After Sally and Gillian are finally compelled to reveal to Kylie their history as witches and the curse that goes with it, Kylie discovers the source of the spell is in the U.K. and travels there to break it once and for all. However, since Kylie’s inexperience with witchcraft is putting her in danger, Sally and Gillian have no choice but to travel from Massachusetts to the U.K. to save Kylie before it’s too late.
Rated PG-13, Practical Magic 2 also stars Lee Pace and Solly McLeod.
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment announced recently that Practical Magic 2 will be released on Practical Magic 2 will be released on digital streaming via premium video on demand on Tuesday, Oct. 13.
The film will be available for purchase on a variety of digital platforms including Apple TV, Fandango at Home, Prime Video and YouTube for $24.99. Since digital rentals are typically $5 less than purchase prices, viewers should be able to rent Practical Magic 2 for $19.99 for a 48-hour period.
Practical Magic 2 will also be released on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and DVD on Tuesday, Dec. 1. Like purchased copies of the film on PVOD, the 4K and Blu-ray versions of Practical Magic 2 will include four production featurettes.
For viewers who still want to see Practical Magic 2 on the big screen, the film is still playing in 1,268 theaters nationwide.
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