Practical Magic 2 Opens to $30 Million as Warner Bros. Faces Another $75 Million Bet
Updated
Updated · Variety · Sep 13
Practical Magic 2 Opens to $30 Million as Warner Bros. Faces Another $75 Million Bet
3 articles · Updated · Variety · Sep 13
Summary
$30 million from 4,146 North American theaters put “Practical Magic 2” at No. 1, but the debut landed at the low end of expectations and reached only $46 million worldwide.
$75 million in production costs — before global marketing — leaves little margin for a weak start, especially with a 36% Rotten Tomatoes score and an audience skewed heavily toward older women.
A B+ CinemaScore suggests core fans responded better than critics, but the sequel’s inflation-adjusted opening was only roughly in line with 1998’s original, which debuted to about $27 million in today’s dollars.
Warner Bros. now needs stronger legs from nostalgia and star power after recent misses including “The End of Oak Street,” “Supergirl” and “The Bride!,” with $130 million comedy “Digger” next up in October.