- - Release Date Shakeup Impacts Clayface & Practical Magic 2

Zak WojnarFebruary 8, 2026 at 12:08 AM

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If you've been impatiently waiting for Clayface to release this September, you're going to have to wait a little longer. On the other hand, if you've been champing at the bit to see Practical Magic 2, your wait will be slightly truncated. In a surprise change-up, Warner Bros. has changed the release dates for these two highly-anticipated movies.

Practical Magic 2 will now launch on September 11, 2026. That's one week earlier than its original planned date, September 18. Meanwhile, Clayface has been pushed back from September 11 all the way to October 23.

Warner Bros (Warner Bros)

For Practical Magic 2, its new window is the 'post Labor Day' frame. I think the idea is for the film, whose demographic skews older and female, to have a bit more space to itself. Meanwhile, Clayface's new release date is just a week before Halloween, right at the height of 'spooky season.' Clayface, though part of the DCU, isn't a straightforward superhero flick, but an R-rated body horror movie, so the Halloween season seems more appropriate of a release window than September.

I wonder if Practical Magic wouldn't be better served over the lucrative holiday window, or maybe even a summer blockbuster. If you're not hip to the scene, the original Practical Magic released in 1998 and wasn't a box office hit, but has since become a cult classic due to its audacious, genre-bending sensibilities. The film's stars, Sandra Bullock, Nicole Kidman, Stockard Channing, and Dianne Wiest, are all returning for the sequel. That seems like a big deal to me. Leaving the film in September makes me feel like Warner Bros. is hedging its bets on the film. Maybe I'm just a "go big or go home" kind of gambler, but I'm expecting Practical Magic to open in excess of $35 million. That's my early bet.

As for Clayface, yeah, late October sounds right. The DCU connection is exciting, too. This isn't a stand-alone project that happens to be based on a DC property, but a proper entry in the DCU. The DCU has already proven its versatility (Superman and Peacemaker, one month apart? Yowza!), and hopes are high that Clayface will go a long way towards differentiating the DCU from its counterpart, the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Sure, there's some scary moments in stuff like Doctor Strange and Werewolf by Night, but I wouldn't call them genuine "horror" outings.The DCU is casting a wide net and saying that, tonally, absolutely anything can be part of the DCU. Now, where's Creature Commandos: Season 2?

Related: Clayface Is The DCU's First True Continuity Test

This story was originally published by TV Squad on Feb 7, 2026, where it first appeared in the Movies section. Add TV Squad as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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