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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Blu B

@RT43513976 10 hrs ago

A Cult Classic. It's like if someone took a cauldron and mixed in a Hallmark Witch Movie, with some Disney Channel, a romcom, a murder, and some weird dark adult elements that aren't for kids as well. The tone is so odd and fitting for a cult movie. It balances being very happy go lucky with really dark stuff perfectly and doesn't miss a beat. It never feels unnatural or like it alternates between the to extremes. I think it has to do with Dunne's previous work on films like After Hours & American Werewolf where those also did the same sort of thing but were more Horror & comedy. This has comedy too but is was more light hearted family friendly feeling and mixes in other stuff too. Honestly the whole thing is solid overall. The acting has a quirky charm, the New England setting is really nice and memorable, direction is good & consistent, and the soundtrack is great. The only real jarring part is how it can go from killing someone to having a PTA meeting party and a romance within a 5

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Johnwil B

@Johnwil123 1 day ago

77% range

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Matt J

@RT95392035 Oct 24, 2026

All these years, I've never watched it and I'll never watch it again. I love the lead actresses, but wow, this story telling is SO bad in this. It jumps all over the placed with very little explanation. Major gaps, where you'll need to try and piece together what just happened, along with a bunch of sappy filler that you'll have absolutely no connection to, because the character building is that bad. If it wasn't for the two leads, no one would even remember this trash.

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Randal S

@RT96217402 Oct 23, 2026

I actually watched this for the first time last night, and found it surprisingly delightful. The performances were fun, the script was good, the direction was ordinary. I also liked that they wrapped the story up .. I thought...

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Angie S

@Asoup Oct 21, 2026

Such a delightful movie. Watching it during Halloween season just get you into the spooky season mood.

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Leaburn O

@RT35452347 Oct 18, 2026

Fortunate that such an abysmal film had such good actresses to help carry it. Watched on Netflix.

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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 Bros., Warner Home Vídeo, Warner Bros. Pictures
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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