Practical Magic 2 , out this weekend, was thrashed by critics, who gave it just a 36% review score on Rotten Tomatoes. However, that was in line with the first film, which had a 30%. For both films, audience scores have been much, much higher than critic reviews. In fact, Practical Magic 2 has broken a record or two. Or four. Or six, depending on how many you want to add up.

Practical Magic 2 currently has a 93% Rotten Tomatoes audience score . Obviously it’s the best in the two-part series, but past that, it is now the highest rated film for:

  • Director Susan Bier
  • Star Nicole Kidman
  • Star Sandra Bullock
  • Star Maisie Williams
  • Star Joey King
  • Star Lee Pace

Again, these are audience scores, not critic scores, but yes, this is the highest Rotten Tomatoes-scored movie in that category for all of them. The critic score of a 36% is, of course, near the bottom of all their lists, but given that ultimately this is the box office we’re talking about, audiences liking the film is more important. A full-on 57% split between critics and audiences is pretty wild. The movie seems to have really nabbed something by combining famous A-listers with younger Gen Z stars. And people have fond memories of the first movie, it seems, and were down for more.

Right now, Practical Magic 2 made $4.7 million in previews and $12 million domestically this Friday, and is heading toward a $30 million weekend, which is very strong. It will be the first film to finish above Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which has been #1 at the box office every weekend since its July release and is on the verge of breaking the record for the biggest domestic box-office haul of all time.

How will Practical Magic 2 fare its second weekend? Probably not great, given that it is running into Resident Evil from Zach Cregger, which is shaping up to be a hit based on early projections and what may be great reviews, given his past horror projects. His last two, Weapons and Barbarians , have Rotten Tomatoes scores of 93% and 92%, respectively. And Resident Evil , despite some (annoying) complaints from game fans, looks like it’s going to be a thrill ride.

I don’t think it’s much of a surprise that big names were able to carry Practical Magic 2 to solid performance and great audience reviews. But being the highest-scored movie of all those careers? That’s something.

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Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy .