‘Practical Magic 2’ Earns Higher Cinemascore Than the Original Film

Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman reuniting for a supernatural sisterhood story was always going to be a nostalgia play, but nostalgia alone rarely guarantees a warm reception from opening night audiences. Warner Bros. has spent the past few weeks watching tracking numbers climb for ‘Practical Magic 2,’ even as critics remained largely unimpressed by the legacy sequel.

That gap between critical reception and audience enthusiasm has become one of the more interesting storylines of the film’s rollout. While reviewers piled on with a rotten score reminiscent of the original 1998 film’s own critical drubbing, the people actually buying tickets appeared to be having a very different experience entirely.

That divide has now been confirmed in the most direct way possible. ‘Practical Magic 2’ received a B+ grade from opening-night audiences on CinemaScore, a notably stronger result than the B- the original film earned back in October 1998.

That improvement matters more than it might initially seem, given how CinemaScore grades have historically served as an early signal for how a film’s word of mouth will hold up in the weeks following release. A jump from B- to B+ suggests audiences are walking out of theaters considerably more satisfied this time around, even as critics remain unconvinced.

The sequel currently sits at 35 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, a score nearly identical to the 30 percent the original film received from critics decades ago. That consistency isn’t entirely surprising, since ‘Practical Magic’ has always been the kind of property that resonates more with viewers than with reviewers, eventually becoming a beloved cult classic despite its initial critical reception.

Early signs suggest audiences may be even more enthusiastic about the sequel than they were about the original. Rotten Tomatoes’ verified audience score for ‘Practical Magic 2′ has reportedly reached as high as 92 percent, a massive gap from the critics’ score and an improvement over the original film’s eventual 73 percent audience rating.

That kind of audience enthusiasm appears to be translating directly into ticket sales. The film is tracking toward a domestic opening weekend of roughly $30 million, putting it in line with Bullock’s own past box office performances like ‘The Lost City,’ which opened to $30.4 million before finishing with $105.3 million domestically.

The strong reception comes at a particularly important moment for Warner Bros., which has been navigating one of its most difficult box office stretches in 25 years. Recent releases like ‘The End of Oak Street’ struggled to connect with wide audiences despite positive reviews, managing just $51.7 million domestically and $115 million worldwide against an $80 million budget.

‘Practical Magic 2’ represents a different kind of bet for the studio, leaning entirely on star power and nostalgia rather than critical acclaim to drive ticket sales. With Alcon financing half the production alongside Warner Bros., a strong CinemaScore and healthy audience reception could be exactly the kind of momentum needed to carry the film through several strong weekends rather than a single front-loaded opening.

Given how directly the original ‘Practical Magic’ benefited from positive word of mouth after a similarly rocky critical reception, this sequel appears to be following a familiar and encouraging playbook. If the pattern holds, Warner Bros. may have found the sleeper hit it desperately needed this fall.

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