October is the perfect time to curl up on the couch and binge-watch your favorite spooky movies. There are plenty of options to choose from, from the hundreds of movies to watch across all different streaming platforms, to the many new ones released on theaters every year. However, there are some Halloween movies people can’t stop watching during this time of the year.
Hocus Pocus is the perfect example of this. After all, even three decades after its release, it’s sill top on the list of the most popular Disney spooky movies of all times. And now that the second installment of this 1993 witchcraft movie is coming to Disney Plus, we’re sure there will be much more talk about this Halloween cult movie.
Everyone, including the original cast, is extremely excited about the release of Hocus Pocus 2. And who can blame them? We’ve waited almost 30 years to learn what happened with the beloved Sanderson sisters. Bette Midler, who plays Winfred Sanderson, has expressed how long she’s wanted to make a sequel of everyone’s favorite Halloween-themed comedy!
The Making of The First Hocus Pocus Movie Was No Easy Task
Directed by Kenny Ortega, Hocus Pocus follows the story of the Sanderson sisters, played by Bette Midler, Kathy Najimy, and Sarah Jessica Parker, three witches who were hanged in 17th century but promised to come back and terrorize the town of Salem, Massachusetts once again. After accidentally bringing the witches back to life during Halloween night, three children are bound to stop the Sander sister’s from acting on their evil plans.
So far, it sound just like any other Halloween movie, but Hocus Pocus is way more than that. Ortega’s film not only manages to create the perfect Halloween-themed environment, but also manages to transition seamlessly between different genres. That’s why the first Hocus Pocus movie has everything, from scary witches that want to devour children’s souls, to funny skits and musical numbers.
What might surprise fans is that this Halloween classic movie was only filmed in five months, according to IMDb. The filming for the movie began on October 12, 1992, and ended on February 10, 1993. They did this to ensure that the film wouldn’t have to compete against another fan-favorite Halloween movie, The Nightmare Before Christmas, which was set to premiere on Halloween of that same year.
Another surprising fact about this movie is that it started as bedtime story David Kirschner, the film’s producer, used to tell his kids. And the first script for the movie was much darker and scarier. Clearly, Disney executives decided to do something a little more PG, and it is safe to say that they made the right choice.
How The Movie Went From a Box Office Flop To a Halloween Cult Classic
Today, Hocus Pocus is one of the most beloved Halloween movies of all time, but it was a complete flop when it first came out. The film grossed approximately $40 millions when it premiered in 1993. Because of this, Disney chose to re-release the movie in the summer of that same year. Still, Hocus Pocus was a total failure. Critics had only bad things to say about the film and most children didn’t really care for it. So how did it become one of the most beloved Halloween classic?
After the movie was a huge box office flop for a second time, Disney decided to broadcast it on Disney Channel and ABC Family. It was even added to ABC Family’s 13 Nights of Halloween programming. And thus, the movie was rediscovered by new audiences. This, along with the 90’s nostalgia of the early 2000s, is what turned Hocus Pocus into a cult-classic.
Bette Midler Revealed That She Wanted to Make a Hocus Pocus Sequel Almost 15 Years Ago
The Hocus Pocus second movie is not the first time the original cast has reunited. Back in 2020, the Sanderson sisters got back together to raise money for Bette Midler’s nonprofit, the New York Restoration Project.
And now that the official reunion is happening, the starts of the film have talked about how they feel about portraying the Sanderson sisters once again. In fact, in a press conference for Hocus Pocus 2, Bette Midler revealed that she had suggested a sequel a long time ago.
“This was a dream come true, it really was,” She told journalists. “After I realized [the movie] was actually a phenomenon, I started asking people, my agent and people like that, ‘Don't you think they would be interested in a sequel?’ This was a long time ago. This was like 15 years ago. Something like that. So here we are.”
Just like the cast, fans from all over the world are happy that the sequel is finally here! The movie already has a 63% score on Rotten Tomatoes and critics agree that it plays along with that nostalgia we feel when watching the original film. So what are you waiting for? Go add Hocus Pocus 2 on your watchlist!