SummarySandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman are modern witches looking for love and happiness in this spunky and spellbinding comedy/romance. (Warner Bros.)
Directed By:Griffin Dunne
Written By:Alice Hoffman, Robin Swicord, Akiva Goldsman, Adam Brooks
Practical Magic
Metascore
Mixed or Average
47
User score
Generally Favorable
7.0
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Metascore
Mixed or Average
27% Positive
6 Reviews
6 Reviews
45% Mixed
10 Reviews
10 Reviews
27% Negative
6 Reviews
6 Reviews
90
Dunne is committed, thank good-ness, unapologetic for even the most fluttery sentiment or spookiest chill, enjoying the swellness of the very idea almost as much as any fanciful girl.
70
Though its startling shifts in tone sometimes seem unmotivated, this dark yet syrupy 1998 romance has an adolescent charm.
User score
Generally Favorable
56% Positive
34 Ratings
34 Ratings
41% Mixed
25 Ratings
25 Ratings
3% Negative
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
Jul 10, 2021
10
A rare case of Film beats book. The stellar cast, concept, sets and music really all pulls together to perfectly create a movie so memorable and beloved that it transcends generations. This is a movie that is talked about so highly by so many people yet it got an unjust rating on RT from critics. Just goes to show your better off watching things for yourself and making up your own mind.
Jan 12, 2024
9
This movie made my childhood. And now i'm an adult who loves magic. Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman are amazing!!!!
50
It just doesn't add up to anything -- or break down -- to anything special. For good or bad, there's hardly a memorable scene in it.
50
It's not that the movie isn't fun in spots; it's just a TV-ready mix of camp and curdle.
40
The title is, to say the least, an understatement. Witchcraft has rarely looked more prosaic and less sexy than it does in Griffin Dunne's Practical Magic.
30
You can see the outline of an interesting movie beneath the cutesy-pie characterizations and heavy-handed mockery of small-town small-mindedness, but any chance it might have had is short-circuited by director Griffin Dunne's overwhelming inability to establish a consistent tone for the admittedly off-kilter material.
20
Director Griffin Dunne lacks a clear vision, torn between blithe spirits and brimstone, between madcap and macabre. But then what does it matter when there's so little magic on screen anyhow? That is unless you count making audiences disappear.
Oct 7, 2023
9
Great cast. Unique visuals and story. Amazing soundtrack. Not sure where the critics' criticism is coming from, because they're way off. One wanted a DieHard-like character to make an appearance. Talk about a bunch of hacks.
Nov 23, 2015
9
This is a fun movie to watch. I get this sort of empathy towards these witches and a feeling of nostalgia for the 90's. Ooh Sandra Bullock, Nicole Kidman and Goran Visnjic young again. It is a fun movie to watch, fun for the whole family cause everyone lives happily ever after at the end.
Jun 29, 2018
4
This comic movie revolves around the loves of Sally and Gillian, two young witches who are raised by their aunts on an isolated island. They are unhappy in love due to a cruel curse. The film is supposed to be a romantic comedy with a supernatural background, but the plot cuts off almost every developmental path in romance, which turns out to be very fragile. In a romantic comedy, the plot must privilege the development of a love story strong enough to support the plot... but that never happens here. The two female characters want it, but neither does magic make the male characters rise to the challenge. They always seem totally secondary in all plot. Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman were both very well and gave the two witches, the main characters of the film, tremendous strength and personality. They were well supported by Stockard Channing and Dianne Wiest, who played the two aunts. The problem is the boys: Goran Visnjic and Aidan Quinn have never been well in the film, perhaps because the script did not help the actors' work at all. It's too bad.
Aug 24, 2025
1
Bizarre and impossible to follow, this film flows from comedy to romance to thriller, all in the same scene. It's as if the writers, director, actor, and editors were all working on different films and they kept swapping out genre when someone spun a board game spinner.
Production Company:
- Warner Bros.
- Village Roadshow Pictures
- DiNovi Pictures
- Fortis Films
- Stargate Studios
Release Date:Oct 16, 1998
Duration:1 h 43 m
Rating:PG-13
Tagline:There's a little witch in every woman.
Website:
Awards
Blockbuster Entertainment Awards
• 1 Win & 4 Nominations
Young Artist Awards
• 2 Nominations
American Comedy Awards, USA
• 1 Nomination




























