It can be risky to revisit beloved films after decades away, but it was a leap that Practical Magic 2 and its A-list leads were willing to take. Well, good news and bad news. Practical Magic 2 reviewed better on Rotten Tomatoes than Practical Magic 1. The bad news is that both films are 35% or under.
Practical Magic 2, after its rating fluctuated a bit, is firmly in the rotten category with a 35% Rotten Tomatoes score. And though the original film may be considered classic enough to spawn this sequel, back in 1998, Practical Magic scored a 30% with well over 100 reviews in.
There is, of course, often a disparity between critic and audience opinions. That was certainly true with the original Practical Magic, with a 73% audience score, a full 43% above what critics gave it. Audience scores are not in for Practical Magic 2, but it stands to reason they will likely be much higher.
Practical Magic 2
Rotten Tomatoes
Practical Magic 2 brought back stars Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock to reprise their roles. The children, however, were recast. Original actress Evan Rachel Wood has commented that no one from production even contacted her about the movie, short of her replacement, actress Joey King. King is 12 years younger than Wood and a popular Gen Z actress at the moment, so that likely had something to do with it. Similarly, Alexandra Artrip, who has not acted since the original 1998 film, was of course replaced. Game of Thrones’ Arya Stark, Maisie Williams, filled the role.
The film is projected to do well at the box office, with some estimates putting it at $30-40 million, and it’s unlikely the scores will affect that all that much. It has no significant competition releasing this weekend, though there is the very, very long tail of Spider-Man: Brand New Day. However, given that last weekend Spider-Man only made $18 million to win the weekend, Practical Magic 2 may be the first film to unseat it since its July release.
Why don’t critics like it? Here’s a sampling:
Little White Lies – “Even Practical Magic’s most passionate fans won’t have anticipated this 130 minute endurance test of a sequel.”
Variety – “This late sequel delivers a retread of the signposts that made the original a beloved fixture for certain moviegoers, while failing to correct the flaws that made everyone else all but forget it for three decades.”
I’m not sure that people have forgotten about it for three decades, given those box office projections, but if they have, it seems a new generation might be interested in the A/B-list cast. But two hours and 10 minutes seems wild for a movie like this.
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