Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock return as Gillian and Sally Owens in Practical Magic 2.
Nearly three decades after Practical Magic introduced us to the Owens sisters, Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman are back as Sally and Gillian Owens. Whether we actually needed a sequel is debatable, but one thing is certain, there is still something irresistible about these witches.
The original arrived in 1998, and 28 years later the Owens family curse is still alive. This time it has reached the next generation. Sally’s daughters, Kylie and Antonia, played by Joey King and Maisie Williams, must confront the same dangerous legacy, truly loving a man may ultimately cause his death.
Synopsis: Nearly three decades after Practical Magic, Sally and Gillian Owens confront their family’s centuries-old curse as Sally’s daughters, Kylie and Antonia, come into their magical inheritance. With aunts Jet and Franny returning to help, the Owens women must stop the curse from claiming another generation.
Returning favorites Stockard Channing and Dianne Wiest are back as Aunts Franny and Jet, joined by Lee Pace, Xolo Maridueña and Solly McLeod.
First, let’s tackle something practical, the passage of time. Bullock is now 62 and Kidman 59, while Channing is 82 and Wiest 78. They’ve aged along with the audience that loved the original, but the movie seems determined to remind us with an extraordinary number of tight close-ups. I found some of them unnecessarily unforgiving and distracting. I wasn’t sure what the relentless close-ups were intended to add. As for the story, there was the potential for a good plot, but too often it gets lost in too much emotion and not enough practicality.
On the plus side, the timing couldn’t be better. Arriving just before spooky season, the Owens witches bring plenty of candles, spells, potions and supernatural mayhem. The Owens home is once again a visual treat, packed with mysterious bottles, knickknacks and magical details. The story even ventures into some surprisingly dark territory, although it never stays there for long.
Then there’s Nicole Kidman. She’s been seemingly ever-present on our screens lately, and initially I had trouble separating Gillian from some of her recent television characters. But she won me over. Kidman is warm, believable and fiercely loyal as Gillian, and the chemistry between her and Bullock remains the movie’s greatest strength. I was all in for the sisterhood. The screenplay simply needed a little more sage, or whatever magical ingredient might have made everything surrounding it come together more convincingly.
As for the men, they’re largely along for the ride. Pace, Maridueña and McLeod participate in plenty of magical shenanigans, but make no mistake, this remains the Owens women’s movie.
There are plenty of callbacks to 1998, along with potions, emotional outbursts and enough shattered glass, goblets and cabinets to stir up some nostalgia. It’s not really a drama or entirely a comedy, although there are some genuine chuckles. It’s romantic without being much of a romance and supernatural without being particularly frightening.
Practical Magic 2 Screening Suzette Valle
So, did we really need Practical Magic 2?
Probably not. But this is a light, nostalgic and occasionally corny ride that arrives at exactly the right time of year. It doesn’t completely recapture the spell of the original, but I still wanted to have a margarita with these women. Maybe that’s the real magic.
The movie didn’t completely cast its spell on me, but I’d happily pull up a chair, pour a margarita and spend another evening with this coven.
My Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Rated: PG-13
Runtime: 1 hour, 50 minutes
In Theaters: September 10, 2026
Director: Susanne Bier
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