PRACTICAL MAGIC 2 (2026)

Genre: Fantasy/ Sci-Fi
Director: Susanne Bier
Cast: Sandra Bullock, Nicole Kidman, Dianne Wiest, Stockard Channing 
Runtime: 2 hr 10 mins
Rating: PG13 (Some Coarse Language)
Released By: Warner Bros
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 10 September 2026

Synopsis: Starring Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman, Practical Magic 2 returns to a world steeped in moonlit mischief and powerful ancestral magic, as the Owens sisters must confront the dark curse that threatens to unravel their family once and for all in a must-see cinematic event of fun, magic and mayhem.

Movie Review:

Nostalgia is a funny thing. You never quite know what will be remembered fondly, or how long it will take. Back in 1998, Practical Magic was an admittedly middling mix of romance, witchcraft and darker drama, hardly the obvious candidate for a return nearly three decades later. Yet Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman’s sisterly chemistry gave people a reason to keep coming back. Sometimes affection outlasts a movie’s shortcomings. Such, it turns out, was its most effective spell. 

On that count, Practical Magic 2 is a pleasant surprise. We expected another helping of nostalgia, but director Susanne Bier and returning writer Akiva Goldsman, alongside Georgia Pritchett and Kelly Marcel, have crafted something delicate, sensitive and unexpectedly poignant. Beneath the spells and family squabbles is an acknowledgement that time moves on, even for witches, and that protecting ourselves from pain can also mean shutting ourselves off from joy. 

We catch up with Sally (Bullock) after another devastating loss. Her husband Gary has died, revealing that the family curse, which dooms any man an Owens woman loves, was never truly broken. Determined to spare her daughters the same heartbreak, Sally has suppressed their powers and memories of being witches. Kylie (Joey King) and Antonia (Maisie Williams) have consequently grown up unaware of their magical inheritance. The girls, now in their twenties, are returning home for their great-aunt Jet’s birthday. 

That plan unravels when Kylie’s boyfriend Gideon (Xolo Maridueña) is hit by a car and left in a coma. Desperate to save him, Kylie heads to England to investigate the family’s history, with Sally and Gillian (Kidman) following behind. It’s a journey that forces Sally to confront whether keeping her children in the dark ever really protected them. 

Bullock and Kidman slip back into their roles so naturally that the years apart barely register. There’s real sibling familiarity in the teasing, the exasperation and Gillian’s cheerful disregard for Sally’s personal space. Kidman gets to be wonderfully mischievous, while Bullock’s dry delivery remains a delight. A stolen fingerful of birthday cake icing is all Kidman needs to remind us how effortlessly funny she can be. More touching is how Bullock lets Sally’s sadness sit beneath the jokes: this is a woman who has loved deeply and is frightened of having to survive another goodbye. 

Lee Pace supplies the romantic distraction as Ian Wright, an academic with an interest in magic, whom the sisters discover under a spell and without his clothes. The entrance gets a laugh, but his connection with Sally develops into something gentler. Their attraction is less interesting than her hesitation, and Bullock makes the prospect of opening her heart again feel genuinely daunting. 

The stars are generous scene partners too, making room for a new generation of witches rather than keeping the whole film to themselves. King gives Kylie’s desperation and determination real weight, particularly opposite Kidman, whose Gillian recognises that her niece needs guidance rather than more restrictions. Williams gets the less rewarding part, largely stranded beside Gideon’s hospital bed. That imbalance is a pity, although the daughters bring a welcome sense that this family’s story extends beyond its two famous faces. 

Bier’s nicest touch is to let these different temperaments coexist without making anyone a spokesperson for sisterhood. Sally’s caution, Gillian’s appetite for mischief and Kylie’s refusal to accept her mother’s limits don’t always sit comfortably together. That feels right. Loving the same people doesn’t necessarily mean agreeing about what’s best for them.

The older generation lends the reunion an even sweeter sadness. Dianne Wiest and Stockard Channing return as aunts Jet and Frances, and Jet’s awareness that her time is running out gives the film its most affecting perspective. The thought of losing the people who raised us needs no supernatural embellishment. Bier understands this, allowing the familiar affection between these women to carry the emotion. “Live a little. Live a lot,” Jet advises. 

The storytelling is however less assured. The destination is predictable, the magical rules can feel conveniently flexible, and the danger never quite tightens its grip. A more formidable threat might have given the adventure some welcome bite. Leaving Massachusetts also means less time in that lovely family house, although the English cottages, cosy clothes and familiar songs offer plenty of compensation. And yes, the midnight margaritas are back. 

What stays with us, though, is the film’s gentle insistence that fear of an ending shouldn’t stop us enjoying the journey. Sally cannot keep her daughters safe simply by making their lives smaller, any more than she can wish away her own grief. Practical Magic 2 finds warmth and humour in watching her learn that. It may not leave us spellbound, but it does leave us smiling – and rather glad these women decided there was still more living to do.

Movie Rating:

(For the kids - that's all that probably matters)

Review by Gabriel Chong