Critics Find Little Magic in ‘Practical Magic 2,’ but Audiences Are Enchanted

Sequels rarely live up to the original, and critical receptions are often unforgiving. So when Practical Magic 2 landed on Rotten Tomatoes with a modest 34 percent approval rating this week, few were truly surprised. Directed by Susanne Bier and starring Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman reprising their roles as sister witches Sally and Gillian Owens, the sequel arrives a full 28 years after the original — and some critics would rather it had stayed buried.

The film follows the sisters as they attempt to break a centuries-old family curse that kills every man they fall in love with. The urgency becomes personal when Sally’s daughters Kylie (Joey King) and Antonia (Maisie Williams) discover they are witches and that the curse is very real — not just old family legend. When Kylie’s boyfriend (Xolo Maridueña) is struck by a car and left in a coma, she flees to London to try and end the curse once and for all. Sally and Gillian follow, recruiting a magic historian (Lee Pace) to aid their cause.

Critics have compiled a lengthy list of grievances: the lighting is glaring and flat, a sharp departure from the moody, autumnal atmosphere of the 1998 original; beloved characters are sidelined while others exist merely to perish; and the CGI undermines the understated mysticism that made the first film so captivating. Even the Owens family’s enchanting New England home — which fans have obsessively celebrated for nearly three decades — all but vanishes, as much of the story unfolds overseas. (Why London, of all places?) And at 130 minutes, the runtime runs nearly half an hour longer than its predecessor.

It is worth noting that the first Practical Magic, based on Alice Hoffman’s novel and directed by Griffin Dunne, was also met with critical hostility upon its release. Critics took particular issue with the film’s unpredictable tonal shifts, debating whether it was a romantic comedy, horror film, or drama. As Dunne explained to us in 2024, those shifts were entirely deliberate: “I’ve always been drawn to the light and the dark, and I like them in the same [scene], because that’s what life feels like.” While the storyline involving Kidman’s abusive boyfriend Jimmy Angelov (Goran Visnjic) struck some as jarring, Dunne understood intimately — his sister, actress Dominique Dunne, was murdered by her ex in 1982.

Reflecting on the film’s reception two years ago, Bullock said they had been “eviscerated” by critics, while producer Denise Di Novi, who also worked on the sequel, recalled the rampant sexism of the era. “Believe it or not, we actually got criticism for having too many women in the movie,” she said. “There was one review I always quote: ‘How many women can you fit in one movie? In Practical Magic, too many.'”

The original became a cult classic regardless — a portal back to the late Nineties, complete with chunky knit cardigans, velvet dresses, self-stirring spoons, and impeccably cool aunts (Dianne Wiest and Stockard Channing) who served chocolate for breakfast and reminded you that clothing is entirely optional when dancing naked under the full moon. It is a comfort film, one Rewound on VHS again and again, its lines memorized and even recited while officiating a best friend’s wedding. We knew it wasn’t Citizen Kane, and we never wanted it to be.

This is something serious film critics often fail to grasp: Practical Magic 2 was not made for them. It was made for the lovable geeks who buy rearview mirror decals reading “the belladonna is in my bag” and throw midnight margarita parties every Halloween. It was made for the fans who have waited nearly three decades to see these witchy sisters reunited onscreen — the stoic, protective Sally and the fearlessly charming, occasionally reckless Gillian — finally taking down that ancient curse. (R.I.P. Gary Hallet, the devastatingly handsome Arizona police officer played by Aidan Quinn in the original. No one will ever flip a saguaro cactus-shaped pancake like you. You would have loved True Detective.)

Admittedly, Practical Magic 2 is not without its flaws. Evan Rachel Wood and Alexandra Artrip, who portrayed Bullock’s daughters in the original, were replaced by King and Williams, as the source novel — 2021’s The Book of Magic: A Novel — required the daughters to be college-aged. Their absence, even in the form of a cameo, feels like a missed opportunity for fans and actors who would have gladly participated. And Maridueña spending much of the film in a coma is a genuine waste for the Cobra Kai alum, who is effortlessly magnetic onscreen. As for Pace — we have no negative words. Perhaps only that he is too good-looking?

Practical Magic drew hostility from the moment of its release, and that hostility persists. (“The worst version of Kidman the actor is when she performs as a ditz,” one critic recently wrote. “So guess what version of her we get in this film.”) When you sit with remarks like that, it is something of a miracle the film was made at all. So we intend to savor every second of it. 130 minutes? We wish it were longer. We are currently heading to theaters, singing along to Stevie Nicks and Olivia Rodrigo, working to secure a $30 million opening weekend and a 92 percent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. And guess what? We didn’t even need magic to make it happen.

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