Sandra Bullock Says She Was Saddened by the Initial Reaction to the Original ‘Practical Magic’

The 1998 fantasy film has since become a beloved cult classic, but the road to that status wasn't an easy one. Bullock is now looking back on the backlash the movie initially faced — and how it eventually won over the audience it deserved.

Sandra Bullock is reflecting on the negative reception that "Practical Magic" received when it first debuted in 1998. It may come as a surprise, but the beloved fantasy flick wasn't always the cult classic it's known as today.

The film followed sisters Sally and Gillian Owens, two witches descended from generations of women with magical abilities. The Owens women are also bound by a family curse: any man they fall in love with is doomed to die.

In an Entertainment Weekly interview with the cast of the upcoming sequel, "Practical Magic 2," Bullock recalled how difficult it was to promote the original witchy film.

"When we first came out, it was a bumpy road for us," she shared. "Like we knew what we were making and why we were making it. The response wasn't what it is now." One particular question, in fact, often left the "Miss Congeniality" alum at a loss for words.

"If I heard one more time, you know, 'How many women do you need in a film?'" the actress told Entertainment Weekly, prompting shocked reactions from the sequel's younger stars, Joey King and Maisie Williams.

That question came up again and again as Bullock, 62, promoted the movie with co-star Nicole Kidman, 59.

The film had built a world almost entirely surrounded by women — from their characters to eccentric, witchy aunts, Sally's daughters, female friends and neighbors, and the women of their small Massachusetts town.

For Bullock, that was part of the magic. The film's message of sisterhood and support has always mattered deeply to the actress, who admitted that the wave of negativity at the time was "surprising."

"I don't want to say I had shame, but I was sad at how it sort of was received initially," she confessed. Still, once the film finally found its audience, the reaction became all the more gratifying.

"When it caught its wave with those who were supposed to find it, and they were able to coven and communicate with social media, everyone found each other, and we didn't realize how big that audience was," Bullock recalled.

Kidman echoed that sentiment, noting that fans "championed it together completely, which was amazing." "It was sort of like this groundswell of sisterhood that just went, 'No, this is our film. We love it. We rewatch it over and over again, and you have to make it,'" Kidman added.

Elsewhere in the interview, Kidman revealed that "there was a calling" to continue the story of the Owens witches.

"I have a girl that works with me who is a super fan and so she was watching over it always, and I know a number of people that I know who are who are just uber fans, and that was kind of lovely because they know every detail," Kidman said.

As for whether a third installment is on the horizon, neither actress is ruling it out. "We'll do a number three if this takes off, and we'll pass the torch to the girls," she told Vanity Fair, referring to King and Williams.