Practical Magic 2 (2026):

Director: Susanne Bier
Screenwriter: Akiva Goldsman, Georgia Pritchett, and Kelly Marcel
Starring: Sandra Bullock, Nicole Kidman, Joey King, Maisie Williams, Lee Pace, Dianne Wiest, Stockard Channing

The Plot: The Owens women come from a long line of witches, all cursed so that the men they love are doomed to die. After suffering another loss, widower Sally (Sandra Bullock) renounces magic and vows to raise her daughters Kylie (Joey King) and Antonia (Maisie Williams) with no knowledge of their heritage. When Kylie’s love for her boyfriend puts him in a coma, she races off to England in search of a way to lift the curse once and for all. Sally and her sister Gillian (Nicole Kidman) follow to save the untrained young witch from a dark force seeking her power. The sisters are aided by the mysterious warlock Professor Ian Wright (Lee Pace). Will Sally get to her daughter in time? Is there any hope of lifting the curse so the Owens women can finally get their happy endings? Could Ian be that happy ending for Sally?

If you enjoyed Practical Magic, you will likely enjoy Practical Magic 2. This film could—and perhaps should—have come out 10-15 years ago without too much tinkering with the script. The beautiful old house is unchanged by time, the sisters have the same dynamic and individual personalities as they did before; even the cat looks the same. Everything is so perfectly calibrated to cater to a nostalgic audience that it would feel more like pandering if it wasn’t so clearly intended to be comforting.

As a film on its own merits, Practical Magic 2 is perfectly fine. Susanne Bier’s direction is solid and doesn’t get in the way of the characters, thin as they are. Sally and Gillian haven’t changed at all in the last 28 years, remaining the Uptight One and the Wild One, respectively. Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman both easily slip back into their roles from the 1998 film, lovingly bickering at a rat-a-tat pace and tossing back the occasional margarita. Stockard Channing and Dianne Wiest return as the eccentric aunts Franny and Jet, together bringing a sense of whimsy and surprising gravitas.

Franchise newcomers Joey King and Maisie Williams fit the tone well, though King gets more to do on her globetrotting love quest. I would have liked to see more of Williams’ pragmatic doctor-in-residence learning about the existence of magic and reconciling that with her medical training, but she’s mostly stuck on the sidelines. Anyway, it’s not an existential film outside of occasional gestures towards the passage of time and parenthood. Lee Pace as Sally’s love interest has a few lines about the inherent loneliness of the magic practitioner, but he’s mostly there to be hot and charming. Being Lee Pace, he of course excels at both.

The plot moves along on rails, but this kind of film wouldn’t really benefit from shocking twists. It’s evenly paced and never gets too bogged down in exposition. Practical Magic 2 also finds a more consistent tone than its predecessor, although this comes at the cost of sanding down any rough edges. The sequel keeps the Midnight Margaritas and Live Laugh Love-esque visions of sisterhood and witchcraft, but jettisons the grim scenes of domestic violence. The stakes feel lower, the resolution preordained. In this case, I’m not sure that’s a bad thing.

Practical Magic 2 is a nice, slightly corny movie. I found that surprisingly touching. Not just the heartwarming scenes of inter-generational love and support, but the movie’s general lack of cynicism. Perhaps this version of feel-good feminism is out of step with the current moment. Lord knows women have plenty to be angry about. Maybe it is a shameless corporate cash grab. At least it understands what people liked about the original and tries to be a good time at the movies. It isn’t practical as a long term strategy, but sometimes it’s nice to just take a break and enjoy some comfort food.