• by Wayne Friedman , 8 hours ago

With a $30 million box-office opening the second week of September, "Practical Magic 2" presented a return to more normalized fall theatrical moviegoing, according to Rentrak Movies.

“Magic,” a spin on the 1998 original, replaced “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” in the top spot. The summer blockbuster film was number one for the previous six consecutive weekend periods in domestic box-office revenue.

“Magic” had a somewhat bifurcated result, with audiences giving it a 92% positive audience score, per Rotten Tomatoes, and critics posting a weak 39% approval tally.

National TV ad spend for the movie was a very modest $4.95 million, according to estimates from iSpot. 

Much of the campaign ran on Warner Bros. Discovery networks including TNT, Food Network, HGTV, Investigation Discovery and Discovery Channel. Programming included “The Big Bang Theory,” “House Hunters,” “Friends,” and “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.”

Although the $30 million opening was on the low side of Warner Bros.' estimated range, the movie seemed to follow the previous weeks of steadily lower box-office results as “Spider-Man” results weakened.

The leading weekend for "Magic" totaled $81.7 million according to Box Office Mojo -- 12% lower than the three-day total for the previous weekend ($92.6 million). 

 “Spider-Man” took in another $8.4 million to become the all-time leading film, with $935.2 million in domestic box-office revenue.