Practical Magic

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Practical Magic

PG-13

1998

1h 44m

Comedy

Fantasy

Romance

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

31%

Tomatometer

111 Reviews

73%

Popcornmeter

100,000+ Ratings

Sally and Gillian Owens, born into a magical family, have mostly avoided witchcraft themselves. But when Gillian's vicious boyfriend, Jimmy Angelov, dies unexpectedly, the Owens sisters give themselves a crash course in hard magic. With policeman Gary Hallet growing suspicious, the girls struggle to resurrect Angelov -- and unwittingly inject his corpse with an evil spirit that threatens to end their family line.

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Critics Consensus

Practical Magic's jarring tonal shifts sink what little potential its offbeat story may have -- though Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock's chemistry makes a strong argument for future collaborations.

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Peter Bradshaw

Guardian

Aug 6, 2026

4/5

A zanier adventure in occult romance can hardly be imagined, and the elements of grown up noir violence only make it weirder -- it is as if The Witches of Eastwick took on something of Thelma & Louise with a decaffeinated David Lynch.

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Anthony Quinn

Independent (UK)

Mar 30, 2019

Filming in a golden-syrupy light, Dunne seems to have little ambition beyond making his stars look adorable (not tricky) and hoping we'll have forgotten most of The Witches of Eastwick.

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Jami Bernard

New York Daily News

Mar 30, 2019

1/4

It doesn't seem as if there was much communication between the three screenwriters who are credited with adapting Alice Hoffman's novel. Perhaps they should have tried ESP.

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Kevin A. Ranson

MovieCrypt.com

Sep 13, 2026

3/4

The chemistry between Bullock and Kidman overshadows every glitch and gripe... doesn't always add up coherently but still ends magically.

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Joe Lipsett

Horror Queers Podcast

Sep 11, 2026

3/5

The juggling of tones and genres is messy, yes, but the feminist message - from the sisters to the aunts to the whole female population of the town - is what makes this an endearing cult film. And midnight margaritas

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Sarah Vincent

Sarah G Vincent Views

Sep 11, 2026

Nothing could have prepared me for a movie about a female family of witches to be so much about their (insubstantial) romantic relationships with hastily sketched men.

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Dean B

@MovieGeek08 17 hrs ago

Good movie. Pretty boring for the most part. Also, they are WITCHES! Come on. Where's the magic?

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Nickolas R

@RT18291345 1 day ago

Bad, weird, cheesy, and poorly paced.

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Hawk's Nest Studio O

@RT17190378 1 day ago

Great movie, with lots of excitement and a wonderful story. Perfect for ages 12 and up. A nice witch story for a change instead of all evil etc. It’s a good one to watch during Halloween season.

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E M

@RT11044221 2 days ago

I thought it was silly and a waste of talent. The plot could have been better and more intricate. Also too much incestuous hugging-kind of weird. Sandra Bullock is a fantastic actress. I hope she had fun doing this and makes a lot of $.

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Golem G

@momogolem 3 days ago

This original Practical Magic film is so good I recommend a lot of women to watch. Don't mind the stupid professional critics who can't find what this film contributes to the world, the sisterhood, women's endurance, etc... it's a statement more than a film for women. We need more films like this.

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Joanna T

@aerialgirly92 3 days ago

Pretty good.Some parts are scarier than needed. Summary: Gillian & Sally are sisters who come from a fam of witches. 1 lady put a curse on all of them: every man who falls in love with them will die when they hear a beetle sound. Gill grows up to date bad boys but Sally is a good girl & doesn't want the complications that come w/ love in her fam.But she lives with 2 aunts who cast a spell to bring love to her, since they don't want Sally to be lonely. It works, she has a happy life & fam & kids for a while. But then he dies, ofc. Gill comes back & asks Sally for help- her bf is abusing her. They kill him. A detective named Gary comes along & Sally falls in love. He's here bc of a spell that Sall casted when she was young, a man with impossible traits she thought. Gary closes the investigation looking for Gill's bad bf,and he and Sall take a chance on love & end up together.W/ the help of townswomen, they do a spell to kill the bad bf. Sweet communal ending bc the witches were feared b4

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Griffin Dunne

Director

Sandra Bullock

Sally Owens

Nicole Kidman

Gillian Owens

Dianne Wiest

Aunt Bridget 'Jet' Owens

Stockard Channing

Frances Owens

Aidan Quinn

Officer Gary Hallet

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Synopsis

Sally and Gillian Owens, born into a magical family, have mostly avoided witchcraft themselves. But when Gillian's vicious boyfriend, Jimmy Angelov, dies unexpectedly, the Owens sisters give themselves a crash course in hard magic. With policeman Gary Hallet growing suspicious, the girls struggle to resurrect Angelov -- and unwittingly inject his corpse with an evil spirit that threatens to end their family line.

Director: Griffin Dunne
Producer: Denise Di Novi
Screenwriter: Alice Hoffman, Robin Swicord, Akiva Goldsman, Adam Brooks
Distributor: Warner Home Vídeo, Warner Bros. Pictures, Warner Bros.
Production Co: Fortis Films, Warner Brothers, DiNovi Pictures
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Comedy, Fantasy, Romance
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 16, 1998, Original
Rerelease Date (Theaters): Aug 11, 2026
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 1, 2009
Box Office (Gross USA): $46.8M
Runtime: 1h 44m
Sound Mix: Surround, Dolby Digital, DTS, SDDS
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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