‘Practical Magic 2’s’ Box Office Stumble Leaves Warner Bros. Betting Its Whole Year on ‘Dune: Part Three’
Warner Bros. entered the fall movie season hoping a beloved cult classic could give its theatrical slate the jolt it desperately needed. The studio has been chasing a real hit for most of 2026, and ‘Practical Magic 2‘ looked, on paper, like exactly the kind of nostalgia-driven crowd-pleaser that could finally deliver one.
Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman returned as sisters Sally and Gillian Owens nearly three decades after the original film became a beloved comfort watch, and early buzz suggested audiences were genuinely excited. The sequel, directed by Susanne Bier, also brought back Stockard Channing and Dianne Wiest while adding Joey King, Maisie Williams, Lee Pace, Xolo Maridueña and Solly McLeod to the cast. Thursday night previews came in strong, with Practical Magic 2 pulling in $4.7 million from previews at 3,200 locations, putting it ahead of where trackers had initially projected the film.
That optimism didn’t last. According to X account Global Box Office, the studio’s yet again facing another setback after ‘Practical Magic 2’ tracked well but had a terrible reception from critics and underperformed Friday with only around $7.5 million plus previews, a steep drop from the $30 million to $40 million opening weekend some outlets had floated just days earlier. Industry tracker F*XOXO echoed that read, noting the film was looking at roughly $7.75 million for Friday itself, with poor walk-up business dragging down what had been healthy advance sales.
The critical drubbing almost certainly played a role. ‘Practical Magic 2’ landed with a 35% “rotten” score based on 103 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, and reviewers were blunt about where it fell short. Empire’s Leila Latif argued the sequel trades the original’s unruly feminist magic for something disappointingly conventional, adding that the midnight margaritas are back but the magic isn’t. Collider’s Taylor Gates was even harsher, writing that the film lacks the charm, whimsy, and heart of the original and instead delivers a convoluted, bland mess.
The numbers sting more given the context. Warner Bros. Discovery reported a 46% year-over-year decline in theatrical revenue during the second quarter of 2026, a brutal comparison to 2025, when the studio became the first to cross $4 billion at the worldwide box office and picked up 11 Oscars, including Best Picture. Box office analyst Gitesh Pandya noted Warner Bros. reached September without a single 2026 release crossing $100 million domestically, making it the only major studio without one this year.
That grim streak is exactly why all eyes are now on ‘Dune: Part Three.’ The Denis Villeneuve-directed finale, adapting Frank Herbert’s ‘Dune: Messiah,’ is shaping up to be the one release capable of turning the studio’s fortunes around before year’s end. Dune: Part Three reportedly pulled in around $10 million domestically on the first day of wider pre-sales, a new best for the franchise that has it on pace to gross more than $100 million in its opening weekend alone. For comparison, Dune: Part Two opened to $82 million domestically in 2024 before finishing its global run around $715 million.
With Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya returning to lead the cast, ‘Dune: Part Three’ also arrives with a built-in box office rival. The film is set to open the same December weekend as Disney’s ‘Avengers: Doomsday,’ setting up a showdown that’s already drawing comparisons to the Barbenheimer phenomenon of 2023. For Warner Bros., though, this isn’t really about bragging rights against Marvel. It’s about whether the studio can close out a rough year with at least one film that proves its theatrical business hasn’t lost its magic entirely, ‘Practical Magic 2’ pun very much intended.
