Just about 30 years after the release of Hocus Pocus, the beloved Halloween classic has finally spawned a sequel with Hocus Pocus 2, and it looks to be a huge success for Disney+.
Hocus Pocus 2, which premiered ONLY on Disney+ this past Friday, has become the #1 film premiere on Disney+ to date, the streaming equivalent to topping the box office charts.
This statistic is based on “hours watched domestically in the first 3 days,” Disney+ notes.
Clearly, audiences across the United States were hungry to see the return of the Sanderson Sisters, with Hocus Pocus 2 making for one of this Halloween season’s first big events. For years those who never found much to love about the original movie have been wondering how big the fanbase really is, and it would seem we now a definitive answer to that question.
Yes, haters. People actually do love Hocus Pocus. And we love it too.
Meagan Navarro wrote in her review for Bloody Disgusting, “Hocus Pocus 2 captures the memories of the original yet doesn’t retread the exact same ground. The Sanderson sisters’ return feels like a warm hug among old friends. They bring with them a feel-good message and enough Halloween treats to bewitch a younger generation.
“This sequel is as sweet and decadent as a gourmet caramel apple at a Halloween festival.”
The new film is being billed as “the spooky sequel to the 1993 Halloween classic,” with Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy all back as the Sanderson Sisters.
Doug Jones is also back as Billy Butcherson, seen in the latest trailer.
“It’s been 29 years since someone lit the Black Flame Candle and resurrected the 17th-century sisters who were executed for practicing witchcraft, and they are looking for revenge. Now it is up to three high-school students to figure out how to stop the ravenous witches from wreaking a new kind of havoc on Salem before midnight on All Hallow’s Eve.”
Anne Fletcher (The Guilt Trip) directed Hocus Pocus 2 for Disney+.
The cast includes Whitney Peak (“Gossip Girl,” “Molly’s Game”) as Becca, Lilia Buckingham (“Dirt,” “Crown Lake”) as Cassie, and Belissa Escobedo (“American Horror Stories,” “The Baker and the Beauty”) as Izzy, three young women in present-day Salem who incite the wrath of the three witches. Sam Richardson (Werewolves Within) will also star. “Arrested Development” favorite Tony Hale and “Ted Lasso” actress Hannah Waddingham have also both landed roles with Froy Gutierrez, Juju Brener, Taylor Paige Henderson, and Nina Kitchen.
The Kenny Ortega-directed 1993 movie starred Omri Katz as a curious youngster who moves to Salem, Massachusetts, where he struggles to fit in before awakening a trio of diabolical witches (Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy) that were executed in the 17th century. The film also starred Thora Birch, who will not return for the sequel, unfortunately.
Jen D’Angelo (“Workaholics”) wrote the sequel’s script.
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