Warner Bros. projects $58M-$63M global opening for Practical Magic 2

Warner Bros. expects the sequel to the 1998 romantic fantasy comedy Practical Magic to open with a global box office total of $58 million to $63 million. The studio projects roughly $40 million from the North American market and $18 million to $23 million from overseas territories, including Korea, France, Germany, Italy, Australia, Brazil, Mexico, Spain and the United Kingdom, but not China.

The company anticipates a domestic opening of $30 million to $35 million across 4,000 theaters, with previews beginning at 2 p.m. on Thursday. The film, directed by Stephanie Bier and based on Alice Hoffman’s 2021 novel The Book of Magic, is rated PG-13 and will be shown in Dolby format.

The original Practical Magic earned $13.1 million in its opening weekend and ultimately grossed $94.4 million worldwide. The sequel was green-lit after the first film performed well on streaming platforms. Production costs for the new film were about $75 million before marketing expenses.

Critics have given the sequel a 34% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, while the first film holds a 30% score. The movie follows a multigenerational family of witches seeking to break a centuries-old curse.

Other releases this week include Sony’s Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which is on track to surpass Star Wars: The Force Awakens as the highest-grossing film in North America, and Neon’s sci-fi Hope, opening in 1,560 U.S. theaters. Additional titles such as Runner, The Uprising and others are slated for limited releases.