Practical Magic 2 opened soft. Five days later, it's suddenly the film to watch this Halloween season.

According to Box Office Mojo figures cited by Koimoi, the Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman sequel has pushed its worldwide total past $51.8 million, with a domestic cume of $34.6 million since its September 11 release. That's despite what Koimoi called an underwhelming opening weekend, one that came in well below what the projections had promised for a film with this kind of star power behind it.

The turnaround came on discounted Tuesday. The film jumped 68.5% from Monday's numbers, enough to keep it sitting at No. 1 in North America even after a rough Monday drop. Lee Pace, who joins the sisters this time around, hasn't hurt either. But it's the collector's-Tuesday crowd that's really doing the heavy lifting right now.

Here's why the number matters. The original Practical Magic, released back in 1998, was a flop by any measure. It closed its run at $94.4 million worldwide against a $75 million budget, a number that never made the studio look good. The sequel needs less than $45 million more to clear that lifetime total and become the highest-grossing film the franchise has ever produced.

At this pace, that record could fall as early as the second weekend. Koimoi's numbers suggest the film crosses $100 million worldwide around the same point, which would be a strange kind of comeback story: a movie that stumbled out of the gate ending up the biggest thing to carry the Practical Magic name.

The catch is what's coming next. Resident Evil and Avengers: Endgame Encore are both circling the same release corridor, and neither is going to be gentle about eating into Practical Magic 2's runway. The Resident Evil reboot in particular is already being talked up for a franchise-best North American opening, which doesn't leave much oxygen for a film that's only just found its footing.

So the sequel's path to $100 million and a franchise record isn't guaranteed, it's a race against two much louder titles landing in the same window. Whether the Owens sisters can hold their spot at the top through a second weekend against that kind of competition is the number worth watching next.

For now, Practical Magic 2 sits at No. 1, climbing off a bad Monday and a worse opening weekend than anyone expected. The next seven days decide whether that climb was enough.