Alan Ritchson & Sandra Bullock's 1990s Throwbacks Dominate The U.S. Box Office Chart

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Alan Ritchson standing shirtless in Runner 2026

Published Sep 13, 2026, 11:55 AM EDT

Brennan Klein (he/him) is a senior news writer at Screen Rant, host of the Attack of the Queerwolf podcast, and contributor at Alternate Ending and Horror Press. He has been writing and podcasting about pop culture (especially horror movies) for over a decade at platforms including Blumhouse, Fangoria, Dread Central, The Backlot, and Arrow in the Head.

It's a 1990s throwback weekend at the domestic box office thanks to Practical Magic 2 and Runner.

2026's Runner is a new action-comedy buddy movie starring Alan Ritchson (Reacher) and Owen Wilson (Wedding Crashers) that hearkens back to 1990s buddy action classics such as The Last Boy Scout, Bad Boys, and Rush Hour with an original story about two mismatched men who must deliver a donor liver while being targeted by mercenaries. It debuted on September 11, on the same day as the legacy sequel Practical Magic 2, which is a belated follow-up to the 1998 cult classic Practical Magic that reteams stars Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman as witch sisters Sally and Gillian Owens.

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When Amazon launched Reacher in 2022, casting finally gave fans the hulking, 6-foot-plus ex-MP they’d pictured in the novels — a deliberate course-correction from the Tom Cruise films. Which actor plays Jack Reacher?

AAlan Ritchson BTom Cruise (reprising) CChris Hemsworth DHenry Cavill

✓ Correct! Alan Ritchson — a 6’2” former Titans star and onetime American Idol contestant — became the definitive on-screen Reacher. Lee Child publicly blessed the casting. Tom Cruise famously played Reacher in the 2012 and 2016 films to book-fan outrage (Cruise is 5’7”). Ritchson’s physical presence is exactly what the source material demands.

✗ Wrong lead! The answer is Alan Ritchson. Tom Cruise’s 2012/2016 Reacher films were panned by book fans specifically for his height (5’7” vs. book Reacher’s 6’5”). Chris Hemsworth and Henry Cavill have the build but aren’t the guy — Ritchson (6’2”, former Titans lead) was Amazon’s course-correction and Lee Child personally endorsed him.

The Reacher TV series is based on a sprawling book franchise that has sold over 100 million copies worldwide — now 28+ novels deep. Which British-born thriller writer created Jack Reacher in 1997’s Killing Floor?

AMichael Connelly BLee Child CJames Patterson DJohn Grisham

✓ Correct! Lee Child — the pen name of Jim Grant, a former Granada Television employee fired in 1995 at age 40 who wrote Killing Floor on the unemployment queue. It became an instant bestseller and launched the Reacher series. Since 2020 he’s been co-writing (and handing over to) his brother Andrew, who now writes the novels solo under the “Andrew Child” name.

✗ Wrong lead! The answer is Lee Child — pen name of Jim Grant. Michael Connelly writes the Harry Bosch/Mickey Haller novels. James Patterson writes the Alex Cross series (and roughly a book a month). John Grisham writes legal thrillers. Grant started Reacher in 1997 after being fired from British TV, and the series has since sold over 100 million copies worldwide.

Before becoming a drifter, Jack Reacher spent thirteen years in the U.S. military running an elite special investigations unit nicknamed the 110th. What branch and role defined his service?

ANavy SEAL commander BArmy Military Police Major CMarine Corps Sniper DCIA Operations Officer

✓ Correct! Reacher reached the rank of Major in the U.S. Army Military Police, commanding the 110th Special Investigations Unit — essentially the Army’s elite internal-affairs/criminal-investigation outfit for serious cases across the globe. The 110th is the backbone of multiple storylines (especially Season 2, adapted from Bad Luck and Trouble, where his old unit is being hunted one by one).

✗ Wrong lead! The answer is Army Military Police Major. Reacher’s entire professional identity is built around the 110th MP Special Investigations Unit — not SEALs, Marines, or CIA. He reached Major before being involuntarily demoted to Captain late in his career, a sore point referenced throughout the books and show. Season 2 centres entirely on his old 110th brothers and sisters.

Reacher quickly became one of its streaming platform’s biggest hits — landing in the top 3 most-watched seasons on the service for multiple years running, and prompting back-to-back renewals. Which streaming service is it on?

ANetflix BApple TV+ CAmazon Prime Video DPeacock

✓ Correct! Amazon Prime Video — and Reacher is now one of the platform’s flagship series alongside The Boys and The Rings of Power. Season 1 premiered in February 2022 and was renewed for Season 2 within four days. Amazon has greenlit a Neagley spin-off starring Maria Sten, plus multiple future seasons.

✗ Wrong lead! The answer is Amazon Prime Video. Netflix has Jack Ryan rivals but not Reacher. Apple TV+ has Slow Horses. Peacock runs Bosch: Legacy — a separate thriller franchise. Reacher is an Amazon tentpole alongside The Boys and Rings of Power, renewed for Season 2 within four days of Season 1’s launch.

Season 1 opens with Reacher stepping off a Greyhound bus in a sleepy, suspiciously-clean Southern town — where he’s immediately arrested for a murder he didn’t commit. In which fictional town and state is the first season set?

AMargrave, Georgia BLincoln, Nebraska CHope, Colorado DBolton, South Dakota

✓ Correct! Margrave, Georgia — a too-perfect small town whose suspicious tidiness turns out to be bankrolled by the Kliner Foundation’s counterfeiting operation. Reacher steps off a Greyhound in search of a long-dead blues musician (Blind Blake) and ends up tearing the whole town’s operation apart. The fictional town mirrors the real Georgia setting of the 1997 source novel.

✗ Wrong lead! The answer is Margrave, Georgia. Lincoln, Nebraska is from 61 Hours. Hope, Colorado is from Nothing to Lose. Bolton, South Dakota is from 61 Hours too. Margrave is specifically the Killing Floor town — Lee Child’s 1997 debut — and where Alan Ritchson’s Reacher steps off a bus looking for a musician and finds a counterfeiting conspiracy.

Unlike most TV adaptations, Reacher tackles a single Lee Child novel per season — a storytelling choice fans widely praised. Which book served as the source for Season 1?

AKilling Floor BOne Shot CNever Go Back DThe Midnight Line

✓ Correct! Killing Floor (1997) — the very first Reacher novel, and Lee Child’s debut as a writer. Showrunner Nick Santora adapted it faithfully for Season 1 in 2022. Season 2 adapted Bad Luck and Trouble (book 11, the 110th reunion), Season 3 adapted Persuader (book 7, undercover op), and the upcoming Season 4 is Gone Tomorrow.

✗ Wrong lead! The answer is Killing Floor (1997) — the first book in the series. One Shot (book 9) was adapted into Tom Cruise’s 2012 film. Never Go Back was the 2016 Cruise sequel. The Midnight Line is a later novel. The Amazon show deliberately started at Book 1 and has been tackling one novel per season ever since.

Reacher’s trip to Margrave wasn’t random — he arrives to find his older brother Joe has been murdered. Joe was a federal investigator looking into a massive counterfeiting operation. Which agency did Joe work for?

AThe FBI BThe U.S. Treasury CThe DEA DThe ATF

✓ Correct! Joe Reacher worked for the U.S. Treasury Department, specifically investigating currency counterfeiting — historically accurate, since the Secret Service (then under Treasury) handled counterfeiting cases until being moved under Homeland Security in 2003. The Kliner Foundation’s operation in Margrave is what Joe was tracking when he was killed, setting the entire Season 1 mystery in motion.

✗ Wrong lead! The answer is the U.S. Treasury. Counterfeiting investigations historically sat with Treasury’s Secret Service arm (until it moved to Homeland Security in 2003 — the 1997 book and show both honour that era). FBI handles different federal crimes, DEA is drugs, ATF is guns/explosives. Joe was hunting the Kliner Foundation’s counterfeiting operation when he was killed.

Fans famously revolted against Tom Cruise’s casting in the 2012/2016 films because he didn’t match one very specific detail Lee Child spells out on nearly every book cover. How tall is Jack Reacher in the novels?

A5’11” B6’2” C6’5” D6’10”

✓ Correct! 6’5” and 250 pounds — Lee Child describes Reacher that way dozens of times across the books, making Cruise’s 5’7” casting one of Hollywood’s most infamous mismatches. Alan Ritchson is 6’2” (still not quite 6’5”, but dramatically closer to the source). Ritchson bulked up to roughly 240 pounds for the role — hitting the book’s physical profile more accurately than any previous adaptation.

✗ Wrong lead! The answer is 6’5” (and roughly 250 pounds). Lee Child describes Reacher this way on practically every book cover, which is exactly why Tom Cruise’s 5’7” casting was so infamously mocked. Alan Ritchson is 6’2” — still three inches under — but bulked up to ~240 pounds, making him the closest physical match Reacher has ever had on screen.

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Per Deadline, as of Sunday morning, Practical Magic 2 is expected to earn a 3-day domestic total of $30 million by the end of its opening weekend. This is more than enough for it to top the domestic chart, stealing the No. 1 position from the Marvel Cinematic Universe hit Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which has topped the domestic chart for six consecutive weekends (a record for the superhero franchise).

This sees the sequel more than doubling the opening weekend of the 1998 movie, which debuted with $13.1 million at the domestic box office. If 2026's Practical Magic 2 keeps up its trajectory relative to the original movie, it has a chance of actually breaking even against its reported budget of $75 million. This is something that the original, which was a notable flop during its original run, failed to do against its reported budget of $60 to $75 million.

Meanwhile, per The Numbers, Runner is projected to earn a 3-day total of $6.4 million, debuting at No. 4 (rising from Saturday's projections, which saw it bookending the chart at No. 5). The budget of the action movie is unknown, though it is likely that it cost significantly less than the supernatural tentpole at the top of the chart. Below, see the full domestic Top 5 chart for the weekend (per The Numbers and Sony Pictures Entertainment):

Title

3-Day Total

Cumulative (Domestic)

1	Practical Magic 2	$30 million	$30 million (weekend 1)
2	Spider-Man: Brand New Day	$8.4 million	$935.2 million (weekend 7)
3	The Odyssey	$7.4 million	$600.5 million (weekend 9)
4	Runner	$6.4 million	$6.4 million (weekend 1)
5	Coyote vs. Acme	$6.2 million	$47.7 million (weekend 3)

Thanks to Marvel's Spider-Man: Brand New Day being toppled after six weekends of chart supremacy, there has been quite a bit of movement on the domestic chart this weekend. In addition to Spider-Man falling to No. 2, dropping 54% from its sixth weekend, The Odyssey has been pushed from No. 2 to No. 3 with a slightly slimmer drop of 43% that gets it past the huge $600 million domestic milestone (it's the 18th movie in history to ever hit that benchmark) and Coyote vs. Acme has slipped from No. 3 to No. 5 with a 48% drop.

With two new releases arriving on the chart simultaneously (for the first time in September 2026), two holdover releases have been pushed out. Those would be the Blumhouse horror sequel Insidious: Out of the Further, which fell from No. 5 to No. 7 during its fourth weekend (showing solid retention for a horror movie), and the Mark Wahlberg historical crime drama By Any Means, which fell from No. 4 straight to No. 10 during its sophomore weekend.

While Practical Magic 2 and Runner are the only two new releases that debuted in the Top 5, an additional pair of new titles has debuted in the Top 10. The South Korean alien invasion movie Hope (which is director Na Hong-jin's first movie in 10 years, since The Wailing) debuted at No. 8 with $3.3 million while the new Andrew Garfield historical action thriller The Uprising debuted at No. 9 with $3.2 million. This is Garfield's second lowest wide-release domestic debut in history (his lowest was earned by The Magic Faraway Tree, which debuted just three weeks ago).

Release Date September 11, 2026

Runtime 130 Minutes

Director Susanne Bier

Writers Akiva Goldsman, Georgia Pritchett

Cast

Sandra Bullock

Sally Owens
Release Date September 11, 2026

Runtime 97 minutes

Director Scott Waugh

Writers Tommy White, Miles Hubley

Producers Alan Ritchson, Deborah Glover, Jeffrey Greenstein, Mark Fasano, Todd Garner