28 years later, the sequel to a 1998 box-office flop is now No. 1

When Practical Magic was launched in October 1998, there was little purpose to count on the story of the Owens sisters to proceed virtually three many years later. Despite the star energy of Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman, and its $94.4 million international field workplace earnings, the movie by no means felt like an apparent franchise starter. Critical notion was additionally largely adverse, with the movie incomes a 31% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

But all of that modified when Practical Magic developed a cult following years after its theatrical run ended. The film even entered the HBO Max Top 10 shortly after arriving on the service in 2024. That sudden resurgence proved that long-time followers and new viewers had been invested within the story of witch sisters Sally and Gillian Owens, who’re stricken by a household curse that causes any man they fall in love with to die.

The authentic Practical Magic was tough to promote in 1998

Viewers weren’t prepared for a film about witches

Credit: Warner Bros.

One purpose Practical Magic struggled to discover a bigger viewers on the time of its launch could also be that it was tough to elucidate what the film really was. The story had witches, a love curse, and supernatural parts, nevertheless it wasn’t actually a standard fantasy film. It was additionally not an easy romantic comedy, regardless of two main stars being on the heart of the story.

Contemporary opinions, just like the one on RogerEbert, repeatedly picked up on that uncertainty, describing the film as a combination of romance, comedy, horror, and fantasy that didn’t all the time match collectively. That made the film an uncommon proposition for its time. Additionally, all of the essential characters had been ladies.

Sally and Gillian had been surrounded by their aunts, whereas the story targeted closely on the Owens household’s historical past and the relationships between its ladies. The San Francisco Chronicle even described the movie as uncommon as a result of main feminine characters had been fronting the film collectively. That appears oddly insulting, even by the requirements of the last decade.

In retrospect, which will have been the film’s greatest drawback. Practical Magic was constructed round feminine characters and a really particular type of supernatural angle, however these qualities weren’t essentially what audiences had been being inspired to search for in a serious studio launch in 1998. But the identical parts that after hindered the movie would finally grow to be a serious a part of what made it distinctive.

The sequel has a brand new story to inform

The Book of Magic

Credit: Warner Bros.

What makes Practical Magic 2 totally different from each different cash-grab-feeling sequel out there may be the supply materials behind it. Alice Hoffman, who wrote the e-book the primary film was primarily based on, revealed a sequel in 2021 referred to as The Book of Magic. The story follows the latest era of the Owens ladies as they attempt to break the love curse as soon as and for all.

Practical Magic 2 provides us a model of that story, which begins when Sally’s (Bullock) second husband dies. At the identical time, her aunt Bridget (Dianne Wiest) discovers the Book of Raven and finds directions that would lastly break the curse. But the method is much extra sophisticated than following just a few directions from a e-book.

When Sally’s daughter Kylie (Joey King) discovers that there is extra to her magical heritage than she realized, she travels to England looking for Lockland Manor, the place she meets a warlock with evil intentions. Sally and Gillian (Kidman) observe, pulling the unique characters right into a confrontation a lot bigger than the one they confronted within the first film.

The result’s a sequel with its personal story and new characters to introduce. That meant Practical Magic had each a purpose to proceed and an viewers that was acquainted with the place the story had began. Still, the essential response has been combined, with Practical Magic 2 at present holding a 36% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and the location’s normal consensus saying it is “not definitely worth the bother.”

Practical Magic 2 topped the field workplace after a modest opening

The ticket gross sales inform a unique story

Practical Magic 2 did not open with the type of earnings that will usually outline a serious franchise revival. The sequel made round $30 million within the United States throughout its opening weekend, under the roughly $40 million projected earlier than launch. It additionally made round $16 million internationally, giving it a world opening of roughly $46 million.

Yet the film nonetheless reached primary on the home field workplace, which is a reasonably large deal because it dethroned Spider-Man: Brand New Day within the course of. The Marvel Studios movie had managed to carry onto the highest spot for six weeks earlier than the Owens sisters returned to cinemas. By Sept. 22, Practical Magic 2 had made a powerful $78.4 million globally.

This proves that typically a film simply wants time to search out the viewers it was alleged to have. Practical Magic might not have made the impression Warner Bros. anticipated in 1998, however that didn’t cease individuals from turning into hooked up to the story finally. There are a lot of motion pictures that get dismissed and by no means get one other probability. Practical Magic was fortunate sufficient to get a second life.