Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman view “Practical Magic” very differently today than they did when they made it 28 years ago.
In 1998, the film received mixed reviews and had a modest box office performance. It has since become a cult favorite, embraced by a new generation who found the romantic comedy through social media clips. The two Oscar winners are returning to their roles of witchy sisters Sally and Gillian Owens in “Practical Magic 2,” in theaters on Sept. 10, giving them a chance to reckon with the original’s rocky reception and its unlikely second life.
Both films trace their roots to Alice Hoffman’s novels: “Practical Magic,” published in 1995, inspired the original film, while her 2021 novel “The Book of Magic” expands the Owens family’s story and provides inspiration for the sequel.
‘Maybe it needed to marinate’
Bullock recalls a promotional push for the original film that became memorable — for the wrong reasons.
“I had so much trauma from the press junket from the first one because it was brutal,” Bullock recalls. “We were not well-received because we were ‘too much,’ ‘too witchy,’ ‘too many women,’ ‘too many tones.’ I’m like, ‘Have you lived a day in a life as a woman?’ ”
“We didn’t stumble, but it stumbled, but it didn’t really stumble. Maybe it needed to marinate a little bit. We were marinating,” said Bullock. “But here we are, and how lucky are we that we’re still here to be able to go reap the benefits and the rewards of our work?”
The movie eventually found the audience it had missed in theaters, and Bullock said she realized there had been a reappraisal about six years ago.
“I was still harboring so much shame,” she said. “I was like, ‘Oh my god, the things that were said, I’m sorry, we thought we were doing something nice.’ And turns out we did. It was just 28 and change years too early.”
Reclaiming the witch
Part of that second life, Bullock believes, reflects a broader change in the way people have come to view the word “witch.”
“A witch has always been a negative connotation. It was presented that way. The word is being taken back, and there’s ownership of it from the community saying, ‘I’m a witch and I’m proud,’ ” Bullock said.
For Kidman, the film’s resurgence became personal.
“People started just coming into my life who would go, ‘You want to know what my favorite film of yours is? ‘Practical Magic.’ And suddenly I was like, ‘What? Wow, OK,’ ” she said.
When it came time to make the sequel, Bullock sat down with her children and their friends to watch the original.
“I wanted fresh eyes,” she said. “Because we were embarking on the new chapter, the new baby witches coming in. I wanted to understand it from a point of view I didn’t have. I wanted to see what they had to say.”
Building the magic again
As producers, Bullock and Kidman also faced the practical realities of mounting a legacy sequel on a budget. Among the challenges was recreating one of the original film’s most recognizable elements: the Owens house.
The production rebuilt the house on a London back lot as a full structure, rather than the temporary exterior shell used for the original film.
“It was an incredibly tough fiscal time. We were hedging the dollar,” Bullock said. “We’re not a big superhero film, so you don’t get the luxury of a big price tag.”
Kidman added: “And we also knew the responsibility of bringing it in on a certain price because then you go, ‘OK, we can breathe a bit,’ ” she said. “I think when a budget blows out, you’re like, ‘Oh my gosh, the stress.’ And we don’t need any more stress in our lives. It’s stressful enough.”
A new generation of witches
The sequel continues the story of the younger generation of Owens women, with Joey King and Maisie Williams playing Kylie and Antonia Owens, the daughters of Sally.
“I really appreciate that it’s like a passing of the baton. I think it’s beautiful,” King said. “It just felt like we were stepping into their world and doing this with them, and it’s a real gift and honor to be considered the people who are taking the batons.”
Producer Denise Di Novi, who also produced the original and cast King in her first leading role in 2010’s “Ramona and Beezus,” said the new characters could carry the story forward.
“We would love to make a third one, and I think there’s so much more to do with Kylie and Antonia,” she said. “At the end of the movie, spoiler alert, but you kind of feel like the Sally and Gillian characters are kind of the elder aunts, you know, and Kylie and Antonia are the ones launching off into the world as witches.”
Williams is also hoping to expand on the younger Owens women’s story: “We’re so there for it. There’s so much more of ‘Book of Magic’ that we didn’t get to explore,” she said.