Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman in “Practical Magic 2.”
Warner Bros. Pictures
Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman are back in Practical Magic 2, the long-awaited sequel to 1998’s Practical Magic, which developed its huge following on home video. How long will fans have to wait for the sequel to hit streaming?
In the original Practical Magic, Sally (Bullock) and Gillian (Kidman) Owens discover the cruel effects of the curse that has plagued their family for generations: If you fall in love with a man, he will die. In Practical Magic 2, Sally has long sworn off the use of witchcraft and has kept her daughters — Kylie (Joey King) and Antonia (Maisie Williams) — in the dark about their powers through adulthood. However, when the Owens curse hits Kylie in a devastating way, Sally is forced to come clean.
Upon learning she’s a witch, Kylie travels to London to find the origin of the curse in a bid to put an end to it once and for all. Since Sally and Gillian know that Kylie is ill-equipped to defeat any dark forces she encounters, they seek the help of Ian Wright (Lee Pace), an academic versed in witchcraft, to find her before its too late.
Rated PG-13, Practical Magic 2 also features Stockard Channing and Dianne Wiest, who reprise their roles as Sally and Gillian’s aunts, Franny and Jet, from the original Practical Magic.
While Practical Magic 2 is projected to cast Spider-Man: Brand New Day out of the No. 1 spot at the domestic box office after its six-week reign, the film isn’t expected to do near the business of the Marvel superhero behemoth and command a longer theatrical-to-home-entertainment window.
As such, Practical Magic 2 — which is projected by industry box office prognosticators to earn anywhere from $30 million to $50 million in its first weekend of business — appears destined to follow its studio Warner Bros. strategy when it comes to digital streaming via premium video on demand.
Apart from outliers like Warner Bros.’ 2020 Best Picture Oscar-winning film One Battle After Another, most digital releases from the studio have debuted on PVOD 31 to 32 days (or five weekends) after they premiere in theaters.
For example, the Warner Bros.’ horror thriller Lee Cronin’s The Mummy and the video game adaptation Mortal Kombat II both arrived on PVOD five weekends after their respective theatrical premieres, while the dinosaur thriller The End of Oak Street, per the studio, is scheduled to do the same.
As such, viewers can expect Practical Magic 2 to follow Warner Bros.’ five-weekend theatrical-to-PVOD model and arrive on such platforms as Apple TV, Fandango at Home and Prime Video on Oct. 13, since new films are generally released on digital on Tuesdays.
How Soon Will ‘Practical Magic 2’ Be Coming To HBO Max?
Since Practical Magic 2 is a Warner Bros. release, the film will make its streaming video on demand premiere on Warner Bros. Discovery’s subscription platform HBO Max.
Generally, there is a 77-day (or 11-weekend) theatrical-to-SVOD window for Warner Bros. films to appear on HBO Max. Both Lee Cronin’s The Mummy and Mortal Kombat II followed the 77-day route, while Supergirl snuck onto the platform a day early after 76 days, on Sept. 9.
Since Warner Bros. mostly follows the 77-day model, viewers can expect Practical Magic 2 to arrive on HBO Max on Friday, Nov. 27. It is possible, however, that the film could drop a day early on the platform for holiday viewing on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 26.
Currently, the only way you can see Practical Magic 2 is in theaters, so check your local listings for showtimes. The original Practical Magic from 1998 is currently streaming on HBO Max.
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