Box Office: ‘Practical Magic 2’ Fizzles With $30 Million Debut — SkimNews
Get the Culture newsletter
Daily culture — film, music, books, the trends and ideas worth your attention. Free.
- Practical Magic 2 opened to $30 million from 4,146 North American theaters and $46 million globally from 77 markets — landing at the lower end of expectations against a $75 million production budget (excluding tens of millions in global marketing).
- Inflation-adjusted, the sequel's domestic debut (~$27 million in today's dollars) is roughly on par with the 1998 original, which launched to $13 million and became a cult favorite after its theatrical flop.
- Critics panned the sequel with a 36% Rotten Tomatoes score, though audiences gave it a 'B+' CinemaScore; opening crowds skewed older women, suggesting weak pull among younger viewers.
- The soft debut extends Warner Bros.' rough streak following 'The End of Oak Street,' 'Supergirl,' and 'The Bride!' misfires, putting extra pressure on October's Tom Cruise-led 'Digger,' which carries a roughly $130 million price tag.
- Practical Magic 2 ended Spider-Man: Brand New Day's six-weekend reign at No. 1; Spider-Man slid to No. 2 with $8.6 million, lifting its domestic total to $935 million and putting it on track Monday to surpass 'The Force Awakens'' $936 million all-time domestic record.
- The Odyssey held No. 3 with $8.1 million, pushing its domestic total to $601 million and worldwide to $1.68 billion — overtaking 'Jurassic World' ($1.67 billion) as Universal's highest-grossing release ever.
- The overall weekend ran about 43% behind the same frame in 2025, when 'Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle' opened to a surprise $70.6 million.
Why it matters: With a $75 million production budget and tens of millions more in marketing, Practical Magic 2's $30 million domestic debut puts Warner Bros. in a steep hole — and follows a summer of studio misfires ('The End of Oak Street,' 'Supergirl,' 'The Bride!') that now heaps risk onto October's $130 million Tom Cruise comedy 'Digger.' The 43% year-over-year drop at the weekend level signals a genuinely soft early-fall marketplace, not just a one-film problem.
Ask SkimNews
