Practical Magic 2 Debuts at No. 1 With $30 Million as Nolan’s The Odyssey Crosses $1.68 Billion Worldwide
Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman’s sequel topped the North American box office but opened at the lower end of pre-release expectations, while Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey became Universal’s biggest global hit and completed 40 consecutive days at No. 1 in South Korea.
Practical Magic 2’s No. 1 opening alongside Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey crossing $1.68 billion worldwide
Table of Contents (16 sections)
Two very different Hollywood releases are shaping the global box-office conversation this week.
Practical Magic 2, bringing Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman back together nearly three decades after the original film, opened at No. 1 in North America with an estimated $30 million. At the same time, Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey continues a far larger long-term theatrical run, reaching approximately $1.685 billion worldwide and establishing a new all-time box-office record for Universal Pictures.
The numbers require some distinction.
Practical Magic 2 unquestionably won the weekend in North America, but describing the result simply as a huge opening would overstate the available evidence. The $30 million debut came at the lower end of industry expectations and was below some forecasts that had anticipated a stronger start.
The Odyssey, by contrast, is now several weeks into release and has accumulated more than $1 billion outside North America alone. Its continuing performance in South Korea has become one of the clearest examples of the film’s international staying power.
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Key Takeaways
Practical Magic 2 opened at No. 1 in North America with an estimated $30 million from 4,146 theatres.
The sequel added approximately $16 million internationally for a $46 million worldwide opening.
Its No. 1 finish was commercially significant, but the $30 million domestic start landed at the lower end of the $30 million–$40 million range expected before release.
Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey has reached approximately $1.685 billion worldwide, making it Universal Pictures’ highest-grossing film globally.
The Odyssey has generated about $1.083 billion outside North America, underlining the scale of its international run.
In South Korea, the film remained No. 1 for a 40th consecutive day on September 13 and had reached approximately 10.78 million admissions.
Practical Magic 2 Takes No. 1 in North America
Practical Magic 2 earned an estimated $30 million from 4,146 North American theatres during its opening weekend, enough to take first place and end Spider-Man: Brand New Day’s six-week run at the top of the domestic chart.
The film added approximately $16 million from international markets, giving the Warner Bros. sequel a worldwide opening of about $46 million.
That makes the opening a clear No. 1 result, though not an outright breakout.
Before release, Variety reported that Practical Magic 2 was expected to earn roughly $30 million to $40 million domestically and between $18 million and $25 million internationally. Its eventual $30 million North American opening therefore arrived at the bottom of that domestic range, while its $16 million international start fell below the cited overseas projection.
The most accurate assessment is that Practical Magic 2 successfully took first place but began its theatrical run more modestly than the strongest pre-release forecasts suggested.
Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman Return as the Owens Sisters
The sequel reunites Sandra Bullock as Sally Owens and Nicole Kidman as Gillian Owens, the sisters they first played in the 1998 film Practical Magic.
Susanne Bier directs the new movie, which is based on Alice Hoffman’s work and continues the story of the Owens family and the supernatural curse connected to them.
Warner Bros. lists Joey King, Lee Pace, Maisie Williams, Xolo Maridueña and Solly McLeod among the new cast members, while Dianne Wiest and Stockard Channing also return from the original film.
Bullock and Kidman are also producers on the sequel alongside Denise Di Novi.
The screenplay is credited to Akiva Goldsman, Georgia Pritchett and Kelly Marcel.
The Film Had a Reported $75 Million Production Budget
Practical Magic 2 carries a reported production budget of approximately $75 million before marketing expenses.
That context matters when evaluating its $46 million worldwide opening.
Worldwide ticket sales are not equivalent to money returned directly to the studio. Cinemas retain part of theatrical revenue, while distribution and marketing expenses also affect a film’s eventual financial position.
It would therefore be premature either to declare Practical Magic 2 a major commercial success or to conclude that it will be unsuccessful based solely on its first weekend.
Its second and third weekends will be particularly important because films aimed at adult audiences can sometimes rely more heavily on sustained attendance than on an exceptionally large opening.
Why the No. 1 Finish Still Matters
The sequel’s first-place opening nevertheless demonstrates that the Practical Magic name still has significant audience recognition almost 28 years after the first movie.
The original film did not begin as a major theatrical phenomenon. It later developed a substantial following, helping transform the property into the kind of catalogue title Hollywood studios increasingly consider for long-delayed sequels.
Practical Magic 2 also arrived strongly enough to displace Spider-Man: Brand New Day from first place after six weekends.
That is a meaningful achievement for the film’s opening frame, even if the revenue itself did not exceed expectations.
Its longer-term performance will determine whether nostalgia and audience interest translate into the sustained theatrical run Warner Bros. needs.
The Odyssey Moves Into a Different Box-Office League
While Practical Magic 2 begins its theatrical life, The Odyssey is operating on a much larger global scale.
Universal Pictures announced on September 12 that Christopher Nolan’s film had surpassed Jurassic World to become the studio’s highest-grossing movie of all time worldwide.
The studio said The Odyssey had moved past $1.677 billion and was expected to reach approximately $1.685 billion globally during the weekend.
That total includes around $601.2 million from the domestic market and approximately $1.083 billion internationally.
The international figure is particularly significant.
More than $1 billion of the film’s gross has been generated outside North America, demonstrating that its commercial performance is not dependent on a single territory.
The Odyssey Becomes Universal’s Biggest Film Ever
The previous worldwide record for Universal Pictures belonged to Jurassic World, released in 2015.
The Odyssey has now moved beyond that benchmark.
Universal described Nolan’s film as its biggest global release ever after the movie passed $1.677 billion. The studio’s weekend projection subsequently placed it at approximately $1.685 billion worldwide.
At that level, The Odyssey ranks among the highest-grossing films in cinema history.
It is also another major commercial result for Nolan following Oppenheimer, although comparisons between the two films need to account for their different scales, genres, release periods and theatrical circumstances.
The Odyssey was built as a large-format event film and extensively promoted around its IMAX presentation.
Its global performance indicates that audiences have continued attending well beyond the initial release period.
South Korea Becomes a Standout Market
The film’s South Korean run has produced one of its most unusual box-office milestones.
According to data reported by Yonhap News Agency, The Odyssey remained No. 1 at the South Korean box office for a 40th consecutive day through September 13.
The film opened in South Korea on August 5.
By September 13, it had attracted approximately 10.78 million admissions and had remained at the top of the weekend chart for six consecutive weekends.
Official Korean box-office data listed The Odyssey at No. 1 on September 13 with approximately 165,000 admissions for the day and a cumulative audience of roughly 10.78 million.
That makes the 40-day No. 1 claim substantially better supported than a general statement that the film is merely “performing well” in the market.
It has sustained first place for more than five weeks.
More Than Half of Weekend Ticket Sales in South Korea
The Odyssey remained dominant during the September 11–13 weekend despite having already spent more than a month in Korean cinemas.
Yonhap reported that the film drew approximately 449,000 viewers over the three-day period and represented 51.5% of all tickets sold during the weekend.
It also became the seventh most-watched foreign film in South Korean box-office history at that stage, based on its cumulative admissions.
Obsession placed second during the weekend with approximately 176,000 admissions, considerably behind Nolan’s film.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day ranked third with around 84,000 admissions.
The gap helps illustrate how strongly The Odyssey has retained its position in Korea even after newer films entered theatres.
International Markets Drive The Odyssey’s Scale
South Korea is an exceptional market for the film, but it forms part of a much broader overseas performance.
Universal’s latest figures put the international total at approximately $1.083 billion compared with about $601.2 million domestically.
That means international markets account for a substantial majority of the movie’s worldwide revenue.
The result also reinforces the global reach of Nolan’s films.
Unlike a franchise sequel built around an established cinematic universe, The Odyssey adapts Homer’s ancient epic and centres on Odysseus’ journey home following the Trojan War.
Matt Damon plays Odysseus.
The principal cast also includes Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland, Charlize Theron and Zendaya.
The Odyssey Remains in the North American Top Three
The film has not disappeared domestically despite its long run.
During the weekend won by Practical Magic 2, The Odyssey earned another approximately $7.4 million in North America and placed third on the weekend chart.
That came after roughly nine weeks in theatres.
A film remaining among the leading weekend titles that far into its run provides additional evidence of theatrical durability, although its current daily and weekend numbers are naturally much smaller than during the opening phase.
The distinction between opening strength and long-term strength is useful when comparing it with Practical Magic 2.
The Bullock–Kidman sequel currently has a first-place debut.
The Odyssey has something different: weeks of accumulated audience demand across multiple international markets.
Practical Magic 2 Also Took the Global Weekend Crown
There is another useful distinction in the weekend figures.
Despite The Odyssey’s enormous cumulative total, Practical Magic 2 was the leading new global release during the latest weekend, earning approximately $46 million worldwide.
That does not mean it is commercially outperforming The Odyssey overall.
It means Practical Magic 2 generated more revenue during this particular weekend because it was opening, while The Odyssey is already deep into its theatrical run.
This difference between weekend rankings and cumulative box-office totals is important.
A newly released film can lead a weekend chart while remaining hundreds of millions — or in this case well over a billion dollars — behind an older release in total revenue.
Two Different Measures of Box-Office Success
The latest numbers provide two distinct Hollywood box-office stories.
For Practical Magic 2, attention is on whether a decades-later sequel can turn a $30 million No. 1 opening into a profitable long-term theatrical run.
Its first weekend demonstrated audience interest, but its performance came at the lower end of expectations. The next several weekends will give a clearer indication of its staying power.
For The Odyssey, the opening-weekend question disappeared long ago.
The film has moved into record territory, surpassing Jurassic World to become Universal’s biggest global release and accumulating more than $1 billion internationally.
Its 40 consecutive days at No. 1 in South Korea provide a particularly striking example of that sustained global demand.
What Happens Next
Practical Magic 2 now enters its second weekend, when the size of its decline will provide a clearer indication of audience retention.
The $30 million North American start gives the film a foundation, but the $75 million reported production budget means sustained domestic and overseas business will matter.
Audience response may therefore be more important than the simple fact that it opened in first place.
The Odyssey will continue adding to a worldwide figure already approaching $1.7 billion.
Its South Korean run is also still active, meaning its 10.78 million admissions total is not a final number.
Whether it continues extending the consecutive-day No. 1 record will depend on competition from new releases.
Bottom Line
Practical Magic 2 successfully opened at No. 1 in North America, earning approximately $30 million from 4,146 theatres and another $16 million internationally for a $46 million worldwide start.
The result is notable but should be described accurately: it landed at the lower end of domestic expectations rather than dramatically exceeding them.
Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey is operating at a different level of its theatrical cycle.
Universal says the epic has reached approximately $1.685 billion worldwide, including around $1.083 billion internationally, making it the studio’s highest-grossing film globally.
In South Korea, the film completed its 40th consecutive day at No. 1 on September 13 and reached approximately 10.78 million admissions, while also leading the weekend chart for a sixth straight week.
One film has just won its opening weekend. The other has turned sustained international demand into one of the largest theatrical runs in Universal’s history.
Key Takeaway
Practical Magic 2 opened at No. 1 with $30 million in North America and $46 million worldwide, at the lower end of expectations.
Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey has reached approximately $1.685 billion worldwide, becoming Universal’s highest-grossing film ever.
The Odyssey remained No. 1 in South Korea for 40 consecutive days and has drawn over 10.78 million admissions there.
Two very different box-office stories from Hollywood this week.
The Rajatheertha Team publishes news, explainers, guides and updates across India and the world. Our coverage follows Rajatheertha's editorial, verification and corrections standards.
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