September 14, 2026

"Practical Magic 2" opened to about $30 million domestically over its September 11-13 weekend, falling short of the $50 million threshold and landing near the low end of Warner Bros.' internal projections. The supernatural comedy sequel, reuniting the original film's stars, launched in more than 4,000 North American theaters on a reported $75 million production budget. Despite missing the higher box office bar, the opening was enough to knock "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" out of the No. 1 spot after that film had led the domestic chart for six consecutive weekends. International play across 77 markets added roughly $16 million, bringing the worldwide opening to about $46 million.

Community bettors gave the film a 47% chance of clearing $50 million, meaning a narrow majority correctly anticipated the softer debut. The result reflects a mixed outcome for legacy-sequel releases this year: strong enough to top a slowing box office chart, but below the higher end of pre-release tracking that had suggested a $40 million-plus opening could stretch toward or past $50 million. Warner Bros. will look to word-of-mouth and the franchise's nostalgia appeal to sustain box office in subsequent weekends.

The New York Giants beat the Dallas Cowboys 28-20 on September 13, 2026, giving John Harbaugh a win in his debut as Giants head coach in the Sunday night season opener. Quarterback Jaxson Dart threw two touchdown passes to Isaiah Likely, Devin Singletary added a receiving touchdown, and Cam Skattebo scored on the ground in his first game back from injury. The Giants' offense moved the ball consistently against a Dallas defense that had been expected to challenge New York's rebuilding roster in the divisional matchup.

Harbaugh was hired in the offseason to reset the Giants program after a period of instability, and the win over an NFC East rival gave the new coaching staff early momentum to open the season. Community bettors had given New York only a 39% chance of winning, favoring Dallas, so the outcome ran counter to the majority prediction. The result was a notable early data point for a Giants team that entered the season with modest external expectations, with the Dart-to-Likely connection emerging as a productive new element of the passing offense. Dallas, by contrast, opened its year with a road loss to a divisional opponent it had been favored to beat.

The Buffalo Bills beat the Houston Texans 36-31 on September 13, 2026, in the teams' Week 1 matchup, ending a run in which Buffalo had lost four straight to Houston and had never won in Houston. Josh Allen threw a 34-yard touchdown pass to Joshua Palmer with 1:36 remaining, capping a back-and-forth game and sealing Buffalo's first win over the Texans in years. Allen entered the game 1-4 all-time against Houston, including 0-4 on the road, a stretch commonly attributed to the Texans' pass rush and secondary giving him trouble in earlier meetings. The late go-ahead drive reversed that trend in a game that went down to the final possessions.

Community bettors gave Buffalo a 77% chance of winning, correctly forecasting the outcome. The win opened the 2026 season on a high note for the Bills, while the loss dropped Houston in an AFC where playoff seeding often comes down to head-to-head and divisional tiebreakers. The result also added a new data point to a narrative that had built around Houston's defense as a specific, recurring problem for Allen and the Buffalo offense.

Alexander Zverev defeated Ben Shelton in four sets, 6-3, 7-6(2), 5-7, 6-2, to win the 2026 US Open men's singles title on September 13, claiming his second career Grand Slam title. The result extended the American men's Grand Slam singles drought to 23 years, a streak dating to Andy Roddick's 2003 US Open title. Shelton had reached his first major final by upsetting Carlos Alcaraz in five sets in the quarterfinals and beating Frances Tiafoe in the semifinal, but could not solve Zverev, who improved to 6-0 in his career series against the American. Zverev's win capped a breakthrough season for the German, who entered the tournament as the No. 1 seed. Shelton was the first Black American man to reach a US Open final since Arthur Ashe in 1972.

Community bettors gave the "American wins" outcome a 47% chance, meaning a slim majority correctly predicted the drought would continue. The result keeps alive one of tennis's longest-running storylines, as American men's tennis continues searching for its next Grand Slam singles champion following years of near-misses from Shelton, Taylor Fritz and others.