Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock, and the pair in Practical Magic 2
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It’s giving Wicked: Inside Sandra and Nicole’s chaotic Practical Magic 2 press tour

Move over, Ariana and Cynthia

Daisy Phillipson
4th September 2026, 12:37
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Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande’s extremely emotional Wicked press tours might be done, but Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman appear to be coming for their crown as they promote the upcoming Practical Magic 2. 

We all remember it: the crying, the finger clutching, the “holding space”. At times, the Wicked press tour felt less like two actors promoting a film and more like an emotionally fuelled fever dream.

Well, Sandra and Nicole are now having their own version of it as they’re currently promoting Practical Magic 2, 28 years after first playing witchy sisters Sally and Gillian Owens. Clips from their press tour are all over social media and they’re chaotic as hell in the best way, so here’s why everyone’s dubbing them the new Cynthia and Ariana…

They cannot stop touching each other 

This is probably the most Wicked-coded part of the whole thing, and we’re so here for it. 

Watch basically any interview with Sandra and Nicole and there’s a good chance you’ll find them holding hands, leaning into each other or putting their arms around one another.

And much like the Wicked tour, some of the particularly affectionate clips have prompted people on social media to joke that there’s more going on between them.

To be VERY clear, there is absolutely nothing to suggest that’s actually the case. Sandra and Nicole have been friends for almost three decades and, if anything, the rest of their press tour makes them look less like a new couple and more like two sisters who’ve known each other for far too long.

When they’re not clinging to one another, they’re ripping each other. And honestly, the speed at which they switch might be the best part. Speaking of which…

Being together apparently makes them completely lose all filters

This is where the Practical Magic 2 press run has been the most chaotic. When they’re together they keep saying the wildest things – especially Nicole (and we love her for it). Just look at her casually dropping that she can pick Sandra up.

Nicole isn’t alone though. Here’s Sandra saying she was first pick as the female lead in Babygirl but couldn’t because of all the milk:

Then there’s the two of them casually saying they still want to kill each other after all these years… in an endearing way, of course.

But arguably nothing tops Nicole revealing one of her witchy methods for dealing with someone who’s annoyed her: writing their name down and putting it in the freezer.

During an interview with her niece Lucia Hawley, Nicole explained, “If I’m a little bit upset with someone, I will write their name and put it in the freezer.”

Naturally, Sandra needed to know what that meant. Nicole explained it “freezes them out”, before Lucia revealed Nicole’s late mum Janelle used to do the same thing and would keep names in the ice cube section of her freezer.

And this is where Sandra suddenly had questions about her own friendship with Nicole. “So is that what happened mid-shoot when all of a sudden you went cold?” she joked. “Was I in the freezer?”

Nicole insisted she wasn’t. So that’s one Practical Magic 2 mystery solved, at least.

The chaos sometimes gets surprisingly emotional 

Another reason so many are comparing their interactions to Cynthia and Ariana? While Sandra and Nicole spend most of their interviews messing around, there have also been a couple of moments where things suddenly got very sincere. 

A very good example of this is their recent interview with People. Don’t get it twisted, their banter is strong for a majority of the chat. But things turned emotional near the end when they’re asked to reveal one thing they admire about each other. 

After saying “I love you” to one another, they both start getting teary. It is, quite frankly, adorable.

And it isn’t always just the two of them. One of the loveliest things about watching their press tour is how much they actually engage with the people interviewing them, rather than simply answering a question and waiting for the next one.

Just take a look at this clip of their interview with Ian Paget, who admitted that he was emotional at the start because of how much he admires them both. Later on, Sandra starts welling up, while Nicole admires how “open” (and handsome) he is. 

There are no “holding space” moments, but let’s face it, that’s probably a good thing.

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Featured image credit: John Salangsang/Shutterstock/Warner Bros.