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Sequel Fizzles With $28 Million Debut
Variety • • general
Key Points:
- "Practical Magic 2," starring Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman, opened at No. 1 with $30 million domestically but underperformed relative to expectations and carries a hefty $75 million production budget.
- The sequel's domestic debut is comparable to the original 1998 film's opening when adjusted for inflation, and it received poor critical reviews (36% on Rotten Tomatoes) but a more favorable audience grade of B+ on CinemaScore.
- Warner Bros. faces continued financial pressure following recent box office disappointments, with "Practical Magic 2" unlikely to break even due to high costs and theater revenue splits.
- Other box office highlights include "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" dropping to No. 2 with $8.6 million in its seventh weekend, nearing the record for highest domestic gross, and "The Odyssey" maintaining strong performance with $8.1 million.
- New releases "Runner" and "The Uprising" debuted with modest earnings ($6 million and $3.25 million respectively) and mixed audience reception, while Neon’s South Korean sci-fi "Hope" showed promising limited release results.
