Sandra Bullock has opened up about the harsh reaction to Practical Magic and why the criticism initially made her question whether she had made a mistake by starring in the movie.
Speaking with Jennifer Aniston for Interview magazine, the 62-year-old actress reflected on the reception to the 1998 fantasy film, which paired her with Nicole Kidman as magical sisters Sally and Gillian Owens.
While Practical Magic is now considered a cult favorite, Bullock remembers a very different response when it first arrived in theaters.
She said the movie was “absolutely eviscerated” by critics, with some reviews questioning its focus on women and emotion. The backlash affected Bullock personally, leaving her with what she described as a “decent amount of shame.”
Nearly three decades later, however, audiences have transformed the movie’s legacy — and Bullock and Kidman are returning for Practical Magic 2.
Sandra Bullock Says the Original Practical Magic Was ‘Eviscerated’
The original Practical Magic arrived in theaters in October 1998.
Directed by Griffin Dunne and adapted from Alice Hoffman’s 1995 novel, the movie followed sisters Sally and Gillian Owens, descendants of a family of witches living under a centuries-old romantic curse.
Bullock played Sally opposite Kidman’s Gillian, with Dianne Wiest, Stockard Channing, Aidan Quinn and Goran Višnjić among the supporting cast.
The movie struggled with critics.
Today, the original holds a 30% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes, compared with a much stronger 73% audience score, illustrating the divide between its critical reception and the affection it later developed among viewers.
Bullock recalled that reviews at the time could be particularly dismissive of the film’s emotional and female-centered storytelling.
For an actor still establishing herself as one of Hollywood’s leading stars, the response hit hard.
Sandra Bullock Thought She Had ‘Done Something Wrong’
Sandra Bullock admitted that the criticism made her internalize the movie’s reception.
“I had a decent amount of shame because I thought I’d done something wrong,” she recalled, describing her reaction as essentially deciding she wouldn’t make that kind of movie again.
But something unexpected happened.
Practical Magic didn’t disappear.
Instead, viewers continued discovering it on home video, television and eventually streaming. Bullock credits the growth of online communities and social media with allowing audiences to communicate what the movie meant to them.
The actress said mothers began sharing the film with their daughters, who then grew up and introduced it to another generation.
What initially looked like a disappointment gradually became one of the most enduring films in both Bullock and Kidman’s careers.
How Practical Magic Became a Cult Classic
Part of the film’s staying power comes from how difficult it is to place inside a single genre.
Practical Magic combines romance, comedy, supernatural fantasy, family drama and darker themes while keeping the relationship between Sally and Gillian at its center.
That unusual combination frustrated some critics in 1998.
For later audiences, it became part of the appeal.
The chemistry between Bullock and Kidman has also remained one of the movie’s strongest elements. Even Rotten Tomatoes’ critical consensus, while negative about the film overall, specifically acknowledges the strength of their pairing.
Its themes of sisterhood, female friendship, grief, love and generational trauma also gave viewers more to return to than its supernatural premise alone.
Nearly 28 years later, that audience loyalty has helped make a theatrical sequel possible.
7 Things to Know About Practical Magic 2
With the Owens sisters finally returning, here are seven major details about the sequel:
- Bullock and Nicole Kidman are back. They reprise their roles as Sally and Gillian Owens and also serve as producers.
- Dianne Wiest and Stockard Channing return. The actresses are back as Aunt Jet and Aunt Frances.
- The next generation plays a major role. Joey King stars as Kylie Owens, while Maisie Williams plays Antonia Owens.
- The cast has several major additions. Lee Pace, Xolo Maridueña and Solly McLeod are among the new cast members.
- Susanne Bier directs. Bier previously directed Bullock in Bird Box and worked with Kidman on The Undoing and The Perfect Couple.
- Alice Hoffman’s books remain central. Warner Bros. says the sequel is based on Hoffman’s The Book of Magic, with a screenplay credited to Akiva Goldsman, Georgia Pritchett and Kelly Marcel.
- The sequel arrives nearly 28 years later. Warner Bros. is releasing Practical Magic 2 internationally beginning September 9, with its North American theatrical release following this week.
Why Bullock Wanted to Return for Practical Magic 2
The sequel didn’t begin simply because Hollywood wanted to revive another familiar title.
According to Bullock, she found herself thinking about what another Practical Magic story could say now.
She contacted producer Denise Di Novi and suggested that a sequel would need to address Sally’s daughters while also engaging with what was happening in the world.
Di Novi pointed her toward Hoffman’s later writing about the Owens family.
That gave Bullock a narrative reason to return.
The official sequel now centers on the Owens family confronting a dark curse threatening another generation, bringing the franchise’s themes of family inheritance and generational patterns back to the forefront.
Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman Reunite Nearly 30 Years Later
The reunion also carries considerably more history than it would have a decade ago.
Both actresses have become major producers as well as performers since making the original movie.
Kidman and Bullock recently explained that their own life experiences helped make this the right moment to revisit Sally and Gillian. The sequel allowed them to explore the Owens family with perspectives shaped by nearly three additional decades of their own lives.
That makes Practical Magic 2 more than a straightforward nostalgia project.
The actresses are returning to characters they first played in their thirties while exploring what those women, and the generations after them, look like later in life.
The Sequel Brings the Owens Family Into a New Generation
The official synopsis says Sally and Gillian must confront a curse threatening to unravel their family.
This time, Sally’s daughters are no longer children.
Joey King plays Kylie Owens and Maisie Williams plays Antonia, allowing the sequel to examine the family’s magical inheritance through another generation.
The story also expands beyond the familiar Owens house, with the family traveling to the U.K. as the mystery develops.
For longtime fans, however, the major attraction remains seeing Bullock, Kidman, Wiest and Channing together again.
Practical Magic 2 Faces the Same Critical Challenge
There is an interesting parallel between the two films.
Early reviews for the sequel are once again divided.
Some critics have praised the reunion between Bullock and Kidman and the nostalgia surrounding the Owens family, while others argue that the sequel struggles to recreate the original’s distinctive charm.
That feels particularly relevant given Bullock’s comments about the first movie.
The original was hardly embraced by critics in 1998, yet its long-term cultural life ultimately depended on audiences rather than reviews.
Whether the sequel follows a similar path will become clearer once general audiences have had the chance to see it.
Why the Original Movie Still Matters to Its Stars
For Bullock, the transformation of Practical Magic from critically dismissed movie to generational favorite changed how she understood its impact.
The audience response demonstrated that a film’s opening reviews don’t necessarily determine its legacy.
That lesson is especially relevant for actors and filmmakers.
Projects can be misunderstood when they arrive. Audience tastes change. New generations discover older performances without the expectations surrounding their original release.
And sometimes the work that initially makes an artist question their choices becomes the work audiences ask them to revisit decades later.
In Bullock’s case, the movie she once worried she’d been wrong to make eventually became important enough to bring its original stars back together almost 30 years later.
What’s Next for Sandra Bullock?
Sandra Bullock has been increasingly selective about acting in recent years, making the decision to return as Sally Owens especially significant.
She recently explained that her children remain central to how she chooses projects. Bullock said she won’t accept work that prevents her children from being with her, and she structures filming around their schedules whenever possible.
With Practical Magic 2, she isn’t simply returning as its star.
Bullock is also producing alongside Kidman and Denise Di Novi, giving her a role in shaping the continuation of a film whose initial reception once made her doubt herself.
Almost three decades after those reviews, audiences are getting the clearest possible indication of how dramatically the movie’s reputation has changed:
Hollywood made another one.
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FAQs
Why Did Sandra Bullock Feel Ashamed After Practical Magic?
Bullock said the harsh reviews made her feel as though she had “done something wrong.” The movie was poorly received by many critics when it premiered in 1998, despite later developing a passionate audience and cult following.
Is Sandra Bullock Returning for Practical Magic 2?
Yes. Bullock reprises her role as Sally Owens alongside Nicole Kidman as Gillian Owens. Both actresses are also producers on the sequel.
When Does Practical Magic 2 Come Out?
Warner Bros. is releasing Practical Magic 2 internationally beginning September 9, 2026, with its North American theatrical rollout following this week. The film is directed by Susanne Bier and reunites several members of the original cast.
