‘Practical Magic 2’ Leads Box Office as ‘Spider-Man’ Eyes All-Time Domestic Record

Practical Magic 2 looks to conjure up a win over the unstoppable Spider-Man: Brand New Day. The Warner Bros. sequel from director Susanne Bier grossed $13 million domestically on Friday, including Thursday previews. Earning a B+ CinemaScore from audiences, Practical Magic 2 heads to an opening weekend around or just under $30 million, following the studio having projected a debut in the range of $30 million to $35 million. It opens in over 4,000 North American locations and carries a $75 million production budget. Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman reprise their roles as the Owens sisters from the 1998 original that topped out at $46 million domestically for its initial run. Adapting the work of author Alice Hoffman, Practical Magic 2 focuses on witches Sally (Bullock) and Gillian (Kidman) as they look to end the curse that has prevented their family members from finding love. Joey King, Maisie Williams and Lee Pace round out the cast. The sequel has had trouble working its magic on critics, as it holds a 36 percent approval rating from reviewers on Rotten Tomatoes, which is a bit better than the score of 29 for the original. The new one has a 93 percent audience score. In her review for The Hollywood Reporter, critic Angie Han wrote that Practical Magic 2 “works better the less you look for any sense of logic, and the more you just lean into the transient joys of watching these [two] actresses bounce off each other.” This marks the first frame without Spider-Man: Brand New Day in the top spot since its July 31 release, as the Tom Holland film has led the domestic box office for the past six weekends. Filmmaker Destin Daniel Cretton’s blockbuster is expected to gross around $8.5 million for the weekend to take second place, bringing its domestic cume to $935.271 million. This puts it just shy of taking the top spot on the all-time domestic chart, as it remains behind the $936.6 million domestic total for 2015’s Star Wars: Episode VII — The Force Awakens. Taking third place for the weekend is Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, which is heading for around $8.1 million. The Universal Pictures title brings its domestic total to $601.2 million in its ninth frame. It also becomes the studio’s highest-grossing global release ever, besting 2015’s Jurassic World. Coyote vs. Acme occupies fourth this weekend with around $6.3 million domestically. Ketchup Entertainment’s Looney Tunes feature looks to pull in around $47.8 million after three weeks. Rounding out the top five is Angel Studios’ Runner, as director Scott Waugh’s action-comedy debuts with $2.5 million on Friday, including Thursday previews, for a frame of around $6 million. Earning an A- CinemaScore, the film stars Alan Ritchson and Owen Wilson and centers on an organ delivery gone wrong. Runner opened in more than 2,500 North American theaters and boasts a 72 percent approval rating from reviewers on Rotten Tomatoes, with critic Frank Scheck’s review for THR noting that it “doesn’t prove boring for a second but has trouble managing its disparate tones.” It was a bumpy start for Andrew Garfield’s historical action feature The Uprising, as Focus Features’ release from director Paul Greengrass earned $1.3 million on Friday, including Thursday previews. It is heading to an estimated $3.1 million for the weekend from more than 2,000 North American screens, which would put it in ninth place. The Uprising holds a 53 percent critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with Scheck’s review deeming it “skillfully made and acted, but exhausting.” More to come.