Practical Magic 2 ends Spider-Man's box-office reign – but it's not all good news

After six weeks of total domination, Spider-Man: Brand New Day has been toppled at the box office. Practical Magic 2 is the new incumbent at the top, though it isn't all good news for the fantasy adventure.

The long-awaited sequel grossed $30 million domestically across its opening weekend, with a further $16 million coming from international markets as it surged to the top of the box office charts (via Box Office Mojo).

But with a rumoured production budget of $75 million, and the fact the film was 28 years in the making, this could be considered a disappointment for Warner Bros. The original film only grossed $94 million worldwide, though it did become a cult favourite.

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Though it garnered a mixed response from critics, Practical Magic 2 has been praised by viewers. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film currently has an audience score of 92%, a marked improvement over its critics score of 39%.

The fantasy adventure is based on Alice Hoffman's 2021 novel The Book of Magic, and sees Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman reprise their respective roles as sisters Sally and Gillian Owens.

Sally's children, Kylie (Joey King) and Antonia (Maisie Williams), are now grown up, but tragedy strikes when the family curse rears its ugly head again. Wanting to put things right, Kylie goes on a dangerous mission.

King and Williams are new to the franchise after replacing Evan Rachel Wood and Alexandra Artrip, and the pair praised both Bullock and Kidman during an exclusive interview with Digital Spy.

"I feel like every single detail, Sandra and Nicole have touched and looked at and agonised over and built," said Williams. "So for us, coming to this new, we felt in really safe hands and we felt very encouraged by them.

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"It wasn't just like, 'Welcome and good luck'. They were attentive on set every day, watching scenes, giving notes... It's very inspiring. I don't know how [they] manage to wear all those hats."

King echoed the sentiments of her co-star, adding: "It's also just so special to see how much they care about this sequel [and] how much they want it to be so great for everyone who's a big fan of this franchise."

Practical Magic 2 is in cinemas now.

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Reporter, Digital Spy George is a freelance writer who specialises in Movies and TV. After graduating with a degree in Film Studies and Journalism from De Montfort University, in which he analysed the early works of Richard Linklater for his dissertation, he wrote for several websites for GRV Media.  His film tastes vary from blockbusters like Mission: Impossible and John Wick to international directors such as Paolo Sorrentino and Hirokazu Kore-eda, and has attended both the London and Berlin film festivals.