‘Practical Magic 2’ Gets Its Lukewarm Rotten Tomatoes Score – See What the Critics Are Saying

Legacy sequels have become one of Hollywood’s trickiest bets, especially when they’re revisiting a film whose reputation was built almost entirely by fans rather than critics. Few movies illustrate that gap better than the original ‘Practical Magic’, which has spent nearly three decades as a beloved autumn comfort watch despite a critical reception that never matched its cult following.

That original film, starring Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman as witch sisters Sally and Gillian Owens, landed with a rough 27 percent Rotten Tomatoes score back in 1998, with critics at the time frequently pointing to jarring tonal shifts and significant departures from Alice Hoffman’s source novel. Despite that lukewarm critical reaction, the film’s atmospheric charm and sisterly chemistry between its two leads turned it into a genuine Halloween-season staple over the years.

Now, with ‘Practical Magic 2‘ officially in theaters, it appears history may be repeating itself in more ways than one. The sequel currently sits at 39 percent on Rotten Tomatoes based on 23 reviews, a number that, while still low, actually represents an improvement over the original’s critical standing.

Directed by Susanne Bier from a screenplay credited to Akiva Goldsman, Georgia Pritchett, and Kelly Marcel, the sequel is based on Hoffman’s follow-up novel “The Book of Magic” and follows the Owens sisters as they confront dark secrets and a centuries-old family curse threatening to unravel everyone they love. Bullock and Kidman both return as Sally and Gillian, joined by a significantly expanded cast that includes Joey King, Lee Pace, Maisie Williams, Xolo Maridueña, Dianne Wiest, and Stockard Channing.

Early reviews suggest the sequel is landing in a familiar space for the franchise: divisive among critics, but potentially beloved by longtime fans regardless. One review from Future of the Force described the film as “a solid but safe legacy sequel that does just enough to make the journey worthwhile,” specifically praising Bullock and Kidman’s continued chemistry as the film’s strongest asset even amid a fairly conventional narrative approach.

That kind of “safe but charming” reception tracks closely with how audiences historically embraced the original despite its critical drubbing. Given that the first film earned a much warmer 73 percent audience score on the Popcornmeter compared to its rough Tomatometer standing, there’s reasonable precedent to expect a similar gap between critics and general audiences this time around.

The sequel arrives in theaters as part of a broader Warner Bros. push to revive several of its dormant franchises, following a business arrangement the studio entered that pushed multiple legacy sequels, including ‘The Matrix’ and ‘Ocean’s Eleven’, into active development. That context adds an extra layer of pressure on ‘Practical Magic 2’ to prove these kinds of nostalgia-driven follow-ups can succeed both critically and commercially.

With a runtime of one hour and 50 minutes and a wide theatrical release now underway, ‘Practical Magic 2′ faces its real test in how audiences respond once general moviegoers, rather than critics, get their first look at the Owens sisters’ latest chapter. Given the franchise’s history of fan devotion outpacing critical consensus, that audience reaction may ultimately matter more than the Tomatometer score currently attached to it.

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