Sep 10, 2026 9:00pm IST
‘Practical Magic 2’: Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman on Passing the Magic to Maisie Williams and Joey King (EXCLUSIVE)
It was 1998 when Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock first took to the big screen as Gillian Owens and Sally Owens, the two spell-casting sisters of Massachusetts in “Practical Magic.” Audiences have loved them for their sisterhood and everyday magic spells, far different from heavyweight witchcraft. Almost three decades later, the two actresses have reunited for a sequel, with younger stars Maisie Williams and Joey King handed the baton as the new Owens sisters—cousins in their case.
About their on-screen daughters, in an exclusive chat with Variety India, Sandra Bullock says, “Maisie and Joey as Antonia and Kylie are similar to how Sally and Gillian are. Maisie’s Antonia is more in line, regimented, and safe, and wants everything in order to get through her day. So she is obviously Sally’s child. And again, [they are] two halves of a whole. The characters that they play are very different, but in real life, the two of them are very similar—both crazy free souls that are just absolutely fearless. We went to the Coldplay concert and I swear on my life I spent most of the time trying to keep her from going over the railing.”
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“We were up, and Joey just kept leaning, and I’m like, what are you doing?! I needed those bungee cords that you put on preschoolers when you walk them. Joey needs a bungee cord attached to her… but it was a great concert,” she adds. Kidman remembers it as a “great night”.
At the time, the film’s $75 million budget earned it $94 million at the worldwide box office, an only above-average result. Since then, it has become a fan favorite and remains an autumnal staple. Reminiscing about the first film and why it has become so popular among the masses, Kidman shares, “I think it’s the family, the sisters. When it first came out, it was considered…almost weird. There’s a yearning, particularly from me, and I have daughters, to go see a film together, one that can cross the demographics. Where we can just go out and have a great night. And there’s joy attached to it as well… like it’s fun and a little bit of a party vibe as well, wouldn’t you say?”
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Bullock agrees, “Magic is such a beautiful, spiritual and light-hearted word that evokes all kinds of beautiful thoughts. But there’s also the magic in navigating difficulty, hardship and loss, and what you’re willing to look at coming from it. And this family has navigated, for centuries, a lot of hardship, a lot of fear, a lot of darkness. And it’s how they do it together and always come out of it with a loving heart, without judgment. They still open their doors to help others, even the ones that judge them. I think that was a real connector for people. It didn’t feel out of reach.”
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