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Practical Magic 2's nostalgia-bait spell blows up in its face

Every ingredient in Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman's legacy sequel is in search of an audience who doesn't exist.

By Anna McKibbin  |  September 8, 2026 | 12:00pm
Photo: Warner Bros.
Film Reviews Practical Magic
Practical Magic 2's nostalgia-bait spell blows up in its face

Were it not for Instagram accounts cataloging beautiful home decor and millennials endlessly romanticizing their childhood movies, Griffin Dunne’s Practical Magic would probably be a forgotten relic of ’90s kitsch. It’s not that the first film is bad, exactly, but it’s not a property that is powerfully served by a later in life reappraisal. Its story might have once read as a meditation on sisterhood and sacrifice to a young, impressionable mind, but the attempts by Gillian (Nicole Kidman) and Sally Owens (Sandra Bullock) to overcome their ancestor’s love curse now plays as an obvious and vacant analogy for transgenerational trauma. Its incoherence is made bearable by a 105-minute runtime and a series of playful reprieves (particularly the “midnight margaritas” sequence). The same cannot be said for the two hours and 10 minutes of Practical Magic 2. 

The legacy sequel follows the next generation of Owens women, now focusing heavily on Sally’s once-precocious daughters. Kylie (Joey King) and Antonia (Maisie Williams) are now grown and carving their own, more traditional paths, distinct from the eccentric matriarchy they were raised under. This magic-free life was devised for them by their mother in the wake of her second husband’s untimely death. All of this set-up—25 years of in-movie time—is delivered in a rushed voiceover, haphazardly bridging the movies. But wait: Why did their first onscreen attempt to break the family curse not work? Why do Kylie and Antonia not remember the literal magic of their childhood? And if Sally is so furious at the binds of her witchy ancestry, why is she still living with her mystic aunts, Franny (Stockard Channing) and Jet (Dianne Wiest)? Audiences will barely have time to contemplate this set of questions before the plot bursts forth in unwieldy chunks, prompting further world-breaking queries. 

By the end of the first act, Practical Magic 2 abandons its secret weapon—cozy New England aesthetics, all burnt orange and worn fabrics—to journey to the cold, unappealing grays of London. This shift, combined with the antiseptic harshness of the digital cinematography (as opposed to the hazy film of the ’90s) lends the movie a made-for-TV quality it can’t shake. Under these ugly conditions, Kylie seeks a way to end her family’s long-standing jinx, chased across England by her aunt and mother. Despite the ensemble’s attempts to elevate the story—including a game Lee Pace—Akiva Goldman, Georgia Pritchett, and Kelly Marcel’s script keeps stalling on a series of convoluted contrivances. The only true throughline binding Practical Magic 2 and the original together is their atypical shared structure, one that prompts and resolves side plots rapidly, leaving audiences meandering through a directionless story. 

Sandra Bullock’s last big-screen performance was over four years ago, and despite the overwhelming indifference conjured by the legacy sequel, it’s hard not to feel drawn back towards her onscreen warmth. In Practical Magic 2 she at least gets a handful of moments to platform her talents as a physical comedian, but otherwise she must contend with dialogue overburdened with magical jargon and a director (Susanne Bier, Bird Box) who lets jokes hang pointlessly between actors, rather than quickly cutting to the next lighthearted quip. The only moments of real emotional depth are delivered by Channing and Wiest, but as with the first Practical Magic, these seasoned pros are dramatically underserved in terms of screentime.

Even if Practical Magic was a beloved part of your childhood, it’s hard to see what would excite you about this sequel. Bier’s addition to the franchise is as bizarrely paced as the original and significantly less charming. “We’re all pallbearers of our ancestor’s pain,” explains Pace’s character in a needless piece of exposition. But this sentiment feels applicable to the kind of moviegoing that Practical Magic 2 typifies. Audiences are asked to carry a neverending load of subpar sequels, haunted by characters and worlds which never needed to be resurrected, all in service of bearing the weight of someone else’s nostalgia.

Director: Susanne Bier
Writer: Akiva Goldsman, Georgia Pritchett, Kelly Marcel
Starring: Sandra Bullock, Nicole Kidman, Joey King, Maisie Williams
Release Date: September 11, 2026

 
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