‘Practical Magic 2’ Is Getting Bad Reviews as Rotten Tomatoes Score is Revealed, But Fans Might Not Care
Nearly 30 years after Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman first played witch sisters Sally and Gillian Owens, Practical Magic 2 is finally here. The sequel has arrived in theaters with plenty of attention from fans who grew up loving the original, but critics are not exactly giving it a warm welcome. Still, that may not be a huge problem for this particular franchise. If history tells us anything, Practical Magic has always been a movie that fans love much more than critics do.
The original Practical Magic came out in 1998 and was not a critical success at the time. According to Rotten Tomatoes, the movie currently has a 27 percent Tomatometer score. Critics had issues with the movie’s strange mix of romance, comedy, fantasy, and darker material, while others felt it moved too far away from Alice Hoffman’s novel. But none of that stopped the movie from becoming a fan favorite. Over the years, its cozy fall setting, magical story, memorable characters, and the relationship between Sally and Gillian helped turn it into a Halloween-season tradition.
That history makes the early response to Practical Magic 2 pretty interesting. The sequel currently has a 39 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes based on 23 reviews, meaning it is still getting a rough reaction from critics but is actually scoring higher than the original. That might not sound impressive, but for fans of the franchise, the number could almost feel familiar. The first movie proved that a low critics’ score does not always tell the full story when a film develops a strong connection with its audience.
The new movie brings Bullock and Kidman back as Sally and Gillian, which is easily one of its biggest selling points. This time, the Owens sisters are dealing with another serious threat involving their family and a curse that has been around for generations. The story is based on Alice Hoffman’s follow-up book The Book of Magic, giving the sequel a direct connection to the world created in the original story. The cast is also much bigger, with Joey King, Lee Pace, Maisie Williams, Xolo Maridueña, Dianne Wiest, and Stockard Channing joining the returning stars.
The movie is directed by Susanne Bier, with a screenplay credited to Akiva Goldsman, Georgia Pritchett, and Kelly Marcel. Early reviews suggest that the sequel does not exactly reinvent the franchise. Instead, it seems to focus on bringing back the characters and atmosphere fans already know. One review from Future of the Force called it “a solid but safe legacy sequel that does just enough to make the journey worthwhile.” The review also pointed to Bullock and Kidman’s chemistry as one of the strongest parts of the film.
That description could actually work in the movie’s favor. Practical Magic was never remembered because it was considered a perfect movie. People came back to it because they liked spending time with Sally and Gillian. They liked the Owens family, the magic, the romance, the old house, and the overall mood. For many viewers, watching Practical Magic has become less about judging whether every part of the story works and more about enjoying the feeling the movie creates.
The audience numbers for the first movie show just how different fan opinion can be from critical opinion. Rotten Tomatoes lists the original with a 73 percent audience score, far above its 27 percent critics’ score. That huge gap is exactly why the current response to Practical Magic 2 should not be judged only by the Tomatometer. Critics may have mixed feelings about the sequel, but longtime fans could have a very different reaction once they get to see Bullock and Kidman together again.
Warner Bros. is also clearly betting on the power of familiar franchises. Practical Magic 2 arrives during a period when Hollywood studios are bringing back older movies and characters for new audiences. The studio has been developing other legacy projects as well, making the performance of these sequels important beyond just one franchise. If audiences turn out in large numbers for Practical Magic 2, it could give Hollywood another reason to keep looking back at popular movies from the past.
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