Practical Magic 2

The heart of Practical Magic was always the relationship between Sally and Gillian Owens, so bringing Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman back was essential to making a sequel feel like a genuine continuation rather than simply another visit to the same fictional world.

Bullock returns as Sally, while Kidman once again plays her free-spirited sister Gillian. Much has changed since audiences last saw them together in 1998. Sally’s children have grown up, the sisters have lived decades more, and the Owens family story has moved into another generation.

That passage of time gives Practical Magic 2 something the original could never have had: history. Instead of recreating the characters exactly as they were, the sequel can explore what happens when the women who once struggled with their own inheritance become the older generation responsible for guiding those who come after them.

Bullock and Kidman are also producing the sequel alongside Denise Di Novi, giving the returning stars an important role behind the camera as well as in front of it.

The official Practical Magic 2 trailer immediately makes it clear that the sequel embraces the atmosphere and family mythology that helped the first film endure.

Sally and Gillian are together again, but the Owens family has changed. Sally’s daughters are adults, the younger generation is becoming increasingly important to the story, and the magical inheritance that has followed the family for generations is once again impossible to ignore.

The story also feels larger in scale. The sequel appears interested not simply in repeating the romantic supernatural story of the original, but in exploring the Owens family itself — its history, its relationships and the consequences of a curse that refuses to disappear.

For longtime fans, however, the biggest attraction may simply be seeing Bullock and Kidman sharing the screen as Sally and Gillian again. Nearly three decades have passed, but the sisterly relationship remains at the centre of the film.

Practical Magic 2 returns to the Owens family as an old threat begins to close in on them again. Warner Bros. describes the story as a confrontation with a dark curse capable of tearing the family apart, placing the Owens women's magical inheritance at the centre of the sequel.

Sally now has adult daughters beginning lives of their own, while Gillian has settled into a quieter existence. That relative peace does not last. The story brings the sisters back into action while expanding the family narrative to include the next generation.

The sequel draws on Alice Hoffman’s 2021 novel The Book of Magic, the fourth published novel in her Practical Magic series. That gives the filmmakers a much wider mythology to draw from than existed when the original movie was made.

Exactly how closely the film follows Hoffman’s novel is another question. As with the first Practical Magic, the movie is an adaptation rather than a promise to reproduce every event from the book, so it can use the characters and mythology while shaping its own version of the story.

Sandra Bullock leads the returning cast as Sally Owens, with Nicole Kidman once again playing Gillian Owens.

They aren't the only familiar faces returning. Dianne Wiest and Stockard Channing return as the Owens aunts, Jet and Frances, reconnecting the sequel directly with the family at the centre of the original movie.

The new generation includes Joey King and Maisie Williams, while Lee Pace, Xolo Maridueña and Solly McLeod also join the ensemble.

The combination is important. Practical Magic 2 clearly relies on nostalgia, but it isn't built entirely around it. Bringing back Sally, Gillian, Jet, and Frances gives longtime viewers continuity, while the younger cast provides characters who can carry the Owens family story forward rather than leaving it permanently anchored to 1998.

Practical Magic 2 is directed by Susanne Bier, whose career has spanned intimate character dramas and much larger Hollywood productions. Bier previously directed Sandra Bullock in the hugely successful Bird Box, making this a reunion for the director and star as well as one for Bullock and Kidman.

The screenplay is credited to Akiva Goldsman, Georgia Pritchett and Kelly Marcel. Goldsman provides another important connection to the original Practical Magic, which he also helped write.

Behind the camera, Simon Duggan serves as director of photography, Tom Burton as production designer and Sam Williams as editor. Rupert Gregson-Williams composed the score, while Alexandra Byrne designed the costumes.

Denise Di Novi, Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman produce, while Alice Hoffman is among the executive producers. The involvement of both the returning stars and the author whose novels created the Owens family gives the sequel unusually strong links back to its origins.

The movie begins its international theatrical rollout on 9 September 2026, with Warner Bros. Pictures distributing the film worldwide.

The important word there is theatrical. Practical Magic 2 has been positioned as a cinema release rather than a movie being launched directly onto a streaming service, giving the return of Sally and Gillian Owens the full big-screen treatment.

Release dates can vary slightly by territory, so audiences should check their local cinema listings as the film arrives. Streaming and home-entertainment availability will follow later, but audiences should treat those plans separately from the confirmed theatrical release until Warner Bros. announces the relevant dates.

When Practical Magic arrived in 1998, few could have predicted just how long the Owens sisters would remain part of popular movie culture.

The original film combined romance, comedy, supernatural drama and darker material in a way that made it difficult to fit neatly into a single genre. Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman played sisters raised in a family of witches, with Sally attempting to build an ordinary life while Gillian embraced a much more impulsive one.

Its reputation grew substantially after its original theatrical run. Repeated viewing and home entertainment helped turn Practical Magic into a cult favourite, particularly among audiences drawn to its themes of sisterhood, family and women supporting one another.

That longevity is why a sequel almost three decades later makes sense. Practical Magic 2 isn't reviving a forgotten title simply because it once existed; it is returning to characters whose audience kept growing long after the first movie left cinemas.

Practical Magic 2 has all the key ingredients to be a true sequel to the 1998 film. Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman return as Sally and Gillian Owens, Dianne Wiest and Stockard Channing return as members of the older generation, and a new group of characters expands the family story.

Susanne Bier directs, with Akiva Goldsman, Georgia Pritchett and Kelly Marcel credited on the screenplay. Alice Hoffman’s The Book of Magic provides the literary foundation, while Hoffman herself is involved as an executive producer.

Most importantly, the sequel appears to understand that the appeal of Practical Magic has always gone beyond spells and supernatural events. The Owens women, their relationships and the idea of a family carrying both extraordinary gifts and difficult burdens are what gave the original its staying power.

With the next generation now entering that story, Practical Magic 2 has the opportunity to honour the movie audiences already love while giving the Owens family somewhere new to go.

This page will be updated as further confirmed information about Practical Magic 2 becomes available.