The Owens sisters are back, and audiences turned out in force to welcome them. "Practical Magic 2," Susanne Bier's long-gestating sequel to the 1998 cult favorite, topped the domestic box office in its opening frame, giving Warner Bros. a much-needed autumn win and proving that a quarter-century of pent-up affection for Sally and Gillian Owens translates into real ticket sales.
Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman return as the witchy siblings at the center of the story, with the sequel's official synopsis promising that the Owens sisters "must confront the dark curse that threatens to unravel their family once and for all." That premise leans hard into the mythology that made the original a perennial streaming and cable staple, even though the first film was only a modest performer during its initial theatrical run.
Bier, the Danish filmmaker behind "Open Hearts" and the Oscar-winning "In a Better World," takes over directing duties from Griffin Dunne, who helmed the 1998 original. Her involvement signals a slightly more polished, internationally minded sensibility for the sequel, which clocks in at 130 minutes and blends romance, fantasy, and comedy in roughly the same proportions that defined the first film.
A New Generation of Owens Women
The sequel doesn't rely solely on nostalgia. Joey King joins the cast as Kylie Owens, with Maisie Williams playing Antonia Owens, putting the next generation of the family front and center. Xolo Maridueña appears as Gideon, while Lee Pace steps in as Ian Wright.
Veterans Dianne Wiest and Stockard Channing reprise their roles as Aunt Jet and Aunt Frances, respectively, preserving the multigenerational dynamic that has always been the franchise's emotional anchor. That combination of legacy cast members and fresh faces appears to have broadened the film's appeal beyond viewers who remember the original from 1998.
The film's TMDb rating currently sits at 6.3 out of 10, a mixed-to-positive reception that suggests audiences are enjoying the reunion even if critics haven't fully embraced it. For a sequel arriving 28 years after its predecessor, that's hardly a disaster - the original "Practical Magic" was itself a critical punching bag that later found redemption through home video and repeated television airings, a trajectory the sequel may well repeat.
The Bigger Box Office Story
The real suspense this weekend, however, may be unfolding elsewhere on the charts. "Spider-Man" is reportedly eyeing an all-time domestic record, a milestone that would reshape the conversation around superhero cinema's commercial ceiling. The web-slinger's march toward history adds a layer of intrigue to a weekend that already belonged to a very different kind of franchise - one built on sisterhood, curses, and midnight margaritas rather than web fluid and multiversal stakes.
The contrast is striking. On one side, a mid-budget fantasy romance with a devoted female-skewing fanbase and nearly three decades of goodwill. On the other, a blockbuster machine chasing the kind of domestic gross that only a handful of films have ever achieved. That both can thrive in the same marketplace is a reminder that the theatrical business in 2026 rewards multiple kinds of nostalgia at once.
For "Practical Magic 2," the opening also vindicates years of on-again, off-again development. Talk of a sequel circulated for well over a decade, with Bullock and Kidman both expressing interest at various points before the project finally coalesced with Bier at the helm. That the film arrived on September 9 - a date that would have been unthinkable for the original's release strategy - reflects how much the theatrical calendar has shifted, with September now a viable launching pad for event-adjacent titles.
Whether "Practical Magic 2" holds up in its second weekend will depend largely on word of mouth among the original film's devoted fanbase. That audience has spent years quoting the original's more memorable lines and treating it as comfort viewing, and early indications suggest they've turned out in numbers to see where Sally and Gillian's story goes next.
Bier's film also arrives at a moment when witchy, romance-inflected fantasy is having a resurgence across television and streaming, which can only help its cause. The Owens sisters, after all, predate most of the current crop of supernatural romances, and there's a case to be made that they deserve credit as trailblazers.
For now, the headline belongs to the Owens women. But with "Spider-Man" lurking just behind in the record books, Hollywood's attention will remain split between a cozy, spellbound reunion and a blockbuster chasing immortality.
Source: Hollywood Reporter
