Hollywood's hottest September in years just got two monsters fighting for it
'Practical Magic 2' opens this week with $40M-plus tracking and nearly 30 years of cult loyalty behind it. Then 'Resident Evil' swings in seven days later with presales already pushing projections past $60M. September hasn't felt like this in a long time.
In brief
Hollywood's hottest September in years just got two monsters fighting for it
Two big studio films opening one week apart. Both tracking for record numbers. One is a 28-year-later sequel to a movie that flopped in theaters and became a generational obsession on home video. The other is a reboot of a franchise Hollywood has fumbled repeatedly, handed to the one horror director in America who right now can do no wrong. September 2026 has no business being this interesting - and yet here we are.
Practical Magic 2 opened in North American theaters on September 10, and by this week's early tracking reports, Warner Bros. may finally have its first domestic $40 million-plus opening of the year. According to Koimoi, the film is projecting a domestic opening weekend in the $40 million to $50 million range - which would be Warner Bros.' first release of 2026 to clear that mark at the North American box office. For context, the original 1998 film opened to just $13.1 million domestically and finished with $46.7 million in its entire domestic run. The sequel is being asked to lap that total in a single weekend.
EmpireCity Box Office is predicting a $40 million-plus opening, while Box Office Theory is more bullish at $46.5 million, per World of Reel. Those figures are, as Dark Horizons put it, "a far bigger number than the $13.1 million the first film debuted to in 1998, even taking into account inflation."
The film has the full original cast. Directed by Susanne Bier, it stars Sandra Bullock, Nicole Kidman, Stockard Channing, and Dianne Wiest reprising their roles from the original, alongside new cast members Joey King, Xolo Maridueña, Maisie Williams, Lee Pace, and Solly McLeod. The sequel follows Alice Hoffman's novel The Book of Magic, focusing on Sally and Gillian Owens as they confront a family curse and unite to break it. More specifically, the film follows the Owens family 25 years after the first film, and when Sally's daughter Kylie uncovers long-hidden family secrets and develops dark abilities of her own, the women must unite once again to protect the next generation.
So why the sudden enthusiasm for a sequel to a movie that barely survived its original theatrical run? The first film limped to a $68 million global gross on a $75 million budget and earned mixed reviews - but over the years, it built exactly the cult following that now exists. Millennial women who watched it on repeat as teenagers are now the ones buying opening-weekend tickets. The sequel is expected to stream on HBO Max after its theatrical run, following the success of the original on the platform.
Then, seven days later, something else entirely hits theaters.
Zach Cregger's Resident Evil opens September 18, and the presale story has already gotten loud. Deadline reports the film hit tracking with an eye at a $35 million start, with first-day sales described as "huge," and the outlet notes that could push the forecast much higher - maybe even $50 million. That number would already break the franchise's all-time domestic opening record. At $35 million, it's the biggest domestic opening ever in the Constantin/Columbia Pictures franchise, besting the $26.6 million North American opening of 2010's Resident Evil: Afterlife.
Some trackers are going even further. According to Global Box Office, Cregger's Resident Evil had an excellent start in pre-sales and, driven by a large number of IMAX and premium large-format screens, is now tracking for a $60 million to $80 million domestic debut - the second year in a row Sony has given September a blockbuster-level release. Box Office Pro initially projected a conservative $30 million to $40 million opening before revising that estimate upward as ticket data came in, with the newest projections representing a dramatic escalation.
What gives this Resident Evil a boost is genre credibility and cineastes' fervor for Cregger following his Oscar-winning and blockbuster Weapons, which earned $151.5 million domestic and $270 million worldwide, per Deadline. The film is directed and co-written by Cregger alongside Shay Hatten. It follows Bryan, a medical courier headed for a drop-off at Raccoon City General Hospital who finds himself in a non-stop race for survival as one horrifying night collapses around him. The cast includes Austin Abrams, Zach Cherry, Kali Reis, and Paul Walter Hauser.
Cregger has been deliberate about what kind of Resident Evil movie this is not. He told IGN at San Diego Comic-Con that he is not adapting the games' stories or characters directly, explaining: "I'm not going to be able to do it better than the games. The games are so well executed, and to me, Leon and Claire and these characters, they exist so perfectly in the games that anyone I cast and any difference that I do with them would be, probably, to the detriment of what I was trying to do." Cregger also filmed Resident Evil for IMAX, per Nerd Initiative - a first for the franchise.
The production budget sits at $80 million, making any opening north of $35 million a strong sign for the film's commercial legs. The film is rated R for "strong bloody violence, gore and language throughout" and runs 95 minutes, according to Dark Horizons.
The pairing of these two films back-to-back is not an accident of the calendar - it's a collision of two very different audience theories. Warner Bros. is betting that nostalgia, female-skewing fandom, and prestige casting can convert a cult property into a real theatrical event. Sony is betting that horror auteurism, IMAX, and the Cregger name can do the same for a franchise that has never once punched at its actual cultural weight. According to Dark Horizons and Empire City Box-Office, presales for Practical Magic 2 suggest it could be a "minor hit" for Warner Bros., with little competition in September other than Cregger's Resident Evil opening the following week.
Both films are opening into a post-Labor Day corridor that studios historically treat as a graveyard. Right now, the tracking disagrees. Resident Evil is showing strong first-choice numbers among men under 25, with that demographic running ahead of comparable early tracking for Weapons, Alien: Romulus, and 28 Years Later, per Deadline.
The actual results for Practical Magic 2 should land by Sunday, September 14. Cregger's film follows the weekend after. Ticket counters are already clicking.
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CAN I KICK IT? screens New Jack City at the Sylvan Theater, Washington Monument, on Aug. 22. (Courtesy SHAOLIN JAZZ)
The live-cinema series CAN I KICK IT? returns to the National Mall this month with what its producers are calling the "Gangsters on the Mall" chapter of their free outdoor summer run. On Saturday, August 22, the SHAOLIN JAZZ production brings the 1991 crime classic New Jack City to the Sylvan Theater at the Washington Monument for a night of film, music, and community under the DC summer sky.
What sets the event apart is the sound. As the film plays, DJ 2-Tone Jones builds an original score in real time, reimagining one of the most iconic crime movies of the ’90s through hip-hop, soul, funk, and more. It is less a movie screening than a live performance built around the film.
The details:
Film: New Jack City (1991), with a live soundtrack by DJ 2-Tone Jones
When: Saturday, August 22 — seating opens at 7:30 p.m. (bring lawn chairs and blankets); film begins at 8:30 p.m.
Where: Sylvan Theater at the Washington Monument, Independence Ave SW & 15th St NW
A parking note from the organizers: expect road closures and restricted parking east of 14th Street NW due to a separate race event in the District. Roads west of 14th Street NW will be accessible and available for parking.
New Jack City is the second of three screenings in this year’s free CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series, which opened with Black Panther at Skyland Town Center and concludes with Scarface at the Lincoln Memorial on September 5. Produced by the Washington, DC-based multimedia arts company SHAOLIN JAZZ, the series has presented more than 150 live cinematic experiences at venues across the country, from Lincoln Center to SXSW.
"I wanted to be able to tell good stories with substance and remove the ‘ego’ out of the art," said Andrew Huang during a recent interview. Now, he’s building his career at the intersection of discipline, creativity and innovation.
Andrew Huang, founder of New Place Studios. (Courtesy photo)
As a Chinese American, Huang was reared with a deep respect for hard work, consistency and excellence. He describes his childhood as "not so affluent" and later attended college to hone his passion for videography. "In college I tried to do something I loved, which was video, but along the way I knew that I had to find a job. And so I thought, ‘what was the low hanging fruit to get to that stable 9 to 5 job?,’" he stated.
Later in life, Huang found himself working for corporations where his creativity was often limited, eventually leading to burnout. "I worked in a corporation for a long time and there were a lot of missing pieces. I wanted to fill in gaps missing in corporate video production," said Huang.
He later described how his upbringing and a mindset of "survival" led him toward a corporate career. However, his desire for balance and authentic storytelling ultimately pushed him to take the entrepreneurial leap.
"I founded a new place where you can create video and film with ‘substance and style,’" said Huang. His desire for work-life balance and passion for storytelling naturally evolved into a small business based in Virginia. With the launch of New Place Studios, the entrepreneur quickly found himself reconnecting with the values that would become the foundation of everything he creates behind the camera.
Huang said being a business owner has allowed him to first embrace himself. While others may see video as simply capturing moments, he sees it as a way to preserve stories that inspire, connect and leave a lasting imprint.
By combining cinematic visuals with cutting-edge production techniques and a keen understanding of branding, Huang helps organizations and individuals communicate their vision with purpose. He said understanding a client’s "why" serves as the compass for delivering the services they need.
One benefit of working with a small business, he said, is that clients get to see the production process unfold through a micro lens while working with the same faces throughout the entire project. "The work feels personal," said Huang.
Huang does not regret leaving behind the flash-over-substance mentality and corporate hustle culture. That does not mean the Asian American entrepreneur has been without challenges in the industry. "It’s relatively hard to find other Asian American creatives or people who would want to work with me in the DMV," said Huang.
He identifies the industry culture in which everyone is trying to blend in, creatives may fear displaying their Asian identity and some feel pressure to adopt an American corporate persona. He also points to what he describes as a level of gatekeeping within the industry. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration’s 2024 statistics, Asian American and Pacific Islander entrepreneurs own more than 3 million businesses and employ 5.2 million people in the United States.
After tapping into organizations such as SCORE, which offers free small business mentorship, New Place Studios has become a trusted creative partner throughout the DMV (Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia). The company produces a range of creative services, including commercials, corporate branding, documentaries, film, 2D animation, motion graphics and photography.
For Huang, entrepreneurship has become more than a departure from corporate life. It has given him the freedom to create with intention, build meaningful connections and tell stories that go beyond the surface.
The 2026 CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series. Poster courtesy of SHAOLIN JAZZ.
For three Saturdays this summer, some of Washington’s most familiar public spaces will do something they rarely do after dark: fill up with blankets, lawn chairs, and the sound of a movie being scored live, in real time. CAN I KICK IT?, the traveling “live cinema” series produced by the DC-based multimedia arts company SHAOLIN JAZZ, is bringing a free outdoor run to the city — pairing three era-defining films with an original soundtrack performed on the spot by DJ 2-Tone Jones.
The premise is what sets it apart from a normal screening in the park. Rather than simply pressing play, 2-Tone Jones builds a score as the film unfolds, pulling from hip-hop, soul, funk, jazz, rock, electronic music, and sounds from around the world. The result, the organizers say, is less a movie night than a one-time performance — the same film you know, wired to a soundtrack you have never heard and will not hear again. Guest DJs warm up the crowd starting at 7:30 PM before each 8:30 PM screening.
The 2026 outdoor schedule
All three events are free and open to the public.
Saturday, August 8 — Black Panther at Skyland Town Center. A pop-up marketplace and community activities kick off the evening; guest DJs at 7:30 PM, film at 8:30 PM. Marvel’s superhero epic gets a one-night-only live score in Southeast DC.
Saturday, August 22 — New Jack City at the Sylvan Theater, Washington Monument. Seating begins at 7:30 PM; the film starts at 8:30 PM. The 1991 crime drama plays out at the foot of one of the country’s most recognizable landmarks.
Saturday, September 5 — Scarface at the Lincoln Memorial. Seating at 7:30 PM; film at 8:30 PM. The series closes with Brian De Palma’s crime saga against the backdrop of the Memorial, scored live from start to finish.
First up: Black Panther at Skyland Town Center on August 8. Poster courtesy of SHAOLIN JAZZ.
A DC company with a national footprint
SHAOLIN JAZZ describes itself as a Washington-based arts company working at the intersection of music, film, art, and culture, and CAN I KICK IT? is its signature production. According to the organizers, the series has staged more than 150 live cinematic experiences around the country — at performing arts centers, museums, festivals, and cultural institutions including Lincoln Center in New York, SXSW, the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Republic Square in Austin, the Tacoma Armory, and The Cary Theater.
“CAN I KICK IT? has always been about creating a shared experience,” said Gerald Watson, co-founder of SHAOLIN JAZZ. “When you combine iconic films with live music in public spaces, something special happens. People aren’t just watching a movie — they’re experiencing it together. That’s what makes these nights so memorable.”
Cinema as a community event
The DC run lands as cities across the country look for new ways to activate public space through arts and culture — and this series is a straightforward pitch for how to do it: take a landmark everyone already knows, add a film everyone has an opinion about, and let a live soundtrack turn the evening into something neighbors experience shoulder to shoulder. Families, film buffs, and music fans are all invited, and admission won’t cost a thing.
The CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series runs August 8, August 22, and September 5. All events are free; check SHAOLIN JAZZ (shaolinjazz.com) for the latest details and any weather updates before heading out.
