Sandra Bullock is looking back on the moment she realized Practical Magic wasn't the instant smash she’d anticipated. The Oscar-winning actress, who starred as Sally Owens in the 1998 supernatural romance, recently recalled the film's underwhelming debut, admitting she was blindsided by the quiet reception after believing the audience would embrace it wholeheartedly.
"I thought, people are going to love it," Bullock said, reflecting on the period following the movie's release. "And then it got quiet." The star's candid recollection underscores a surprising chapter in a career that has seen numerous box-office triumphs, but also highlights how the film has since found a devoted second life as a cult favorite.
Directed by Griffin Dunne, Practical Magic follows sisters Sally and Gillian Owens, played by Bullock and Nicole Kidman, who come from a long line of witches but have tried to keep their magical heritage at arm's length. Their careful distance from the craft collapses when Gillian’s volatile boyfriend, Jimmy Angelov, dies unexpectedly, forcing the sisters into a desperate crash course in hard magic. As they attempt to resurrect him, they inadvertently invite a malevolent spirit into his corpse, setting off a chain of events that threatens their family line while a suspicious policeman, Gary Hallet, played by Aidan Quinn, begins to close in.
Bullock’s reflection on the film’s initial performance comes as no surprise to those who followed the movie’s theatrical run. Released on October 16, 1998, Practical Magic carried a mix of genres - romance, fantasy, and comedy - that made it something of an outlier in the landscape of late-90s cinema. The TMDb rating of 6.769/10 suggests a moderately positive reception today, but the cold reality of its opening weekend left Bullock and the creative team with a sense of whiplash. The movie’s quieter-than-expected debut stood in stark contrast to the energy and affection the cast and crew had poured into the project.
The film, which runs 104 minutes and was produced within the Hollywood industry, boasted an ensemble that included Stockard Channing and Dianne Wiest as the eccentric aunts Frances and Jet, along with a young Evan Rachel Wood as Sally’s daughter Kylie and Alexandra Artrip as her other daughter Antonia. Goran Višnjić took on the role of the ill-fated Jimmy Angelov, while Quinn anchored the romantic subplot as the skeptical detective. Despite the star power, the movie struggled to find its footing with audiences at the time, a reality that Bullock has now addressed with her trademark honesty.
For Bullock, the experience wasn’t just about a disappointing weekend at the box office. The actress has long maintained that the film’s themes of sisterhood, resilience, and embracing one’s identity were closer to her heart than many of her other projects. The sense of personal investment made the muted response all the more jarring. "You put so much of yourself into something, and you just want people to feel what you felt," she added, speaking generally about the creative process. "When they don't, you have to sit with that."
The film’s journey, however, didn’t end with its initial run. Over the years, Practical Magic has become a staple of late-night television programming and streaming rotation, particularly around Halloween. Its blend of warm family drama with a touch of the occult has resonated with a new generation of viewers who were too young to catch it in theaters. Bullock’s recent comments have reignited interest in the movie, with fans and film critics alike revisiting the picture with fresh eyes, arguing that its charm lies precisely in the offbeat tone that may have confused audiences in 1998.
In the years since, Bullock has gone on to headline major hits across genres, from action thrillers to romantic comedies, but Practical Magic remains a notable entry in her filmography - partly because of its rocky start, and partly because of its endurance. The actress’s willingness to revisit the disappointment with humor and perspective has endeared her further to fans who appreciate her candidness.
As the anniversary of the film’s release approaches, Bullock’s recollection serves as a reminder that Hollywood’s initial judgments aren’t always final. The silence she remembers has long since been filled by devoted viewers who discovered the Owens sisters on their own time. And while Bullock may not have heard the applause right away, the audience that mattered eventually showed up - just as she had hoped all along.
Source: Variety
