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After a summer for the record books, movie theater operators are hoping to keep the vibes high with some midnight margaritas.
Those celebratory cocktails are part of the fun in “Practical Magic 2,” a fantasy sequel about
witchy sisters played by Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock. Nostalgia should propel the follow-up film to $30 million to $40 million from 4,000 North American theaters in its debut, enough to claim No. 1 and topple the six-weekend reign of “Spider-Man: Brand New Day.”
“Practical Magic 2” is aiming for another $18 million to $25 million at the international box office from 77 territories, which would put initial global sales anywhere from $48 million to $65 million. Warner Bros. produced the movie for $75 million.
The first “Practical Magic” was a box office flop but eventually became a cult favorite. In the original movie, based on the novel by Alice Hoffman, sisters Sally and Gillian Owens, who descend from a long line of witches, find themselves fighting off a curse that kills the men they fall in love with. Susanne Bier directed the sequel, which picks up 25 years later as Sally and Gillian’s daughters uncover their hidden family secrets and seek to break the curse that has long haunted their lineage. Dianne Wiest and Stockard Channing reprised their roles from the prior film, while Joey King and Maisie Williams joined the cast. Reviews for “Practical Magic 2” have not been kind (Variety’s critic Todd Gilchrist called the movie “as cumbersome and overlong as the 28-year wait” between the two chapters) — which may not bode well for box office longevity beyond its opening weekend.
Also new to theaters is Disney’s music documentary “Oasis: Don’t Look Back in Anger,” which is eyeing a $5 million to $7 million start from 1,200 domestic theaters. The concert film follows Liam and Noel Gallagher of the legendary British band Oasis as they reunite for the first time since 2009. Along with behind-the-scenes footage from their hugely successful world tour, “Don’t Look Back in Anger” boasts the first joint interview in two decades with the brothers, who famously don’t get along. Reception has been rapturous for the “Oasis” doc, which bowed earlier this week at Venice Film Festival.
As the fall season slowly ramps up, summer leftovers like “Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” “The Odyssey” and “Coyote vs. Acme” will round out box office charts. In the coming days, “Brand New Day” should supplant 2015’s “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” ($936 million, not adjusted for inflation) as the highest-grossing movie of all time at the domestic box office. So far, Tom Holland’s latest adventure as Peter Parker has generated $923 million in North America and $2.4 billion globally.
