Nearly 30 years after the original, Practical Magic 2 is heading for a US$30 million opening weekend in the US and Canada.
The Warner Bros. and Alcon sequel is expected to make US$12.5 million on Friday from 4,146 theatres. That puts it on track for a three-day opening of about US$30 million.
According to Deadline, the film took in US$4.7 million in Thursday previews across 3,200 locations. That is ahead of the preview figures for Sandra Bullock’s The Lost City and Ticket to Paradise.
A US$30 million opening would put the sequel close to The Lost City, which debuted with US$30.4 million in 2022 and finished with US$105.3 million in North America. It would also fall below The Proposal, which opened to US$33.6 million in 2009 and went on to make US$163.9 million domestically.
The box-office outlook comes despite a mixed critical response. Practical Magic 2 currently has a 36% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes, while its audience score sits at 92%.
The original Practical Magic also had a weak critical reception. Released in 1998, it opened with US$13.1 million and ended its domestic run with US$46.7 million.
The sequel brings back Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman as sisters Sally and Gillian Owens. Its opening weekend will coincide with the start of the NFL season, which could affect moviegoing patterns.
Outside North America, the film is expected to open to US$18 million to US$23 million across 77 territories, excluding China.
Meanwhile, Spider-Man: Brand New Day is closing in on the domestic box-office record held by Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The Marvel film has reached US$926.7 million in North America and needs less than US$10 million to pass the latter’s US$936.6 million total.
