Practical Magic 2 Dethrones Spider-Man at the Box Office: Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman Conjure a $30M Opening

Practical Magic 2 Finally Dethrones Spider-Man After a 6-Week Reign — But That $30M Opening Tells a Complicated Story

After six straight weekends of watching Tom Holland swing circles around the competition, the box office finally has a new queen — well, two of them. Practical Magic 2, starring Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman as the beloved witch sisters Sally and Gillian Owens, opened to $30 million domestically this weekend, officially ending the historic run of Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

Nearly three decades after the original 1998 film flopped in theaters only to become a cult classic on cable and streaming, the Owens sisters are back — and millennials showed up. But with a debut that merely mirrors Bullock's recent live-action track record, is this a magical comeback or a spell that fizzled? Let's break it down.

How the Owens Sisters Ended Spider-Man's Historic Run

Let's give credit where it's due: knocking off Spider-Man: Brand New Day is no small feat. The Destin Daniel Cretton-directed Marvel epic has been an absolute monster, grossing over $935 million domestically and sitting just shy of the all-time domestic record held by Star Wars: The Force Awakens ($936.6 million). It held the No. 1 spot for six consecutive weekends — a streak we haven't seen in years.

Warner Bros. and Alcon Entertainment clearly bet on nostalgia, reuniting Bullock and Kidman almost 28 years after the original. The strategy worked — at least enough to claim the crown. The sequel also outpaced the new Alan Ritchson action flick Runner (co-starring Owen Wilson and directed by Scott Waugh), which landed in the top five with a respectable debut of its own.

Still, context matters. A $30 million opening for a legacy sequel with two of the biggest movie stars on the planet is... fine. Not disastrous, not dazzling. As box office watchers have noted, the debut plays exactly like Bullock's recent live-action openers — solid, star-driven, but hardly the stuff of box office legend.

Mixed Reviews, Strong Nostalgia: Will Word of Mouth Keep the Magic Alive?

Here's the tricky part: critics haven't exactly been charmed. Reviews have called the sequel convoluted, with some arguing it "should have stuck with the original spell book" and that it sells its witches short with lazy comedy and a scattered magic quest. Ouch.

But here's the thing critics sometimes miss — Practical Magic was never a critics' movie. The 1998 original, directed by Griffin Dunne, bombed with reviewers and underperformed in theaters, yet became a generational touchstone for millennial women who grew up quoting "fall in love whenever you can" and hosting midnight margarita nights. The sequel doesn't need a 90% on Rotten Tomatoes. It needs group chats, girls' night outings, and TikTok edits — and early audience buzz suggests it's getting exactly that.

The real question is legs. With Avengers: Doomsday pre-sales already crossing $50 million months ahead of release and Dune: Part Three arriving December 18, the fall calendar is packed. If Practical Magic 2 wants to cast a long spell, it needs strong second-weekend holds — the kind fueled by repeat viewings and cozy autumn vibes rather than front-loaded fan urgency.

The bottom line: Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman did what no one else could this summer — they stopped Spider-Man. A $30 million opening won't break records, but for a 28-years-later sequel powered by sisterhood, nostalgia, and two icons at the top of their game, that's a little bit of midnight magic worth celebrating. Midnight margaritas all around. (˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶)