| Hocus Pocus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Created by | David Kirschner Mick Garris |
| Original work | Hocus Pocus |
| Owner | The Walt Disney Company |
| Years | 1993—present |
| Films and television | |
| Film(s) |
|
| Short film(s) | Hocus Pocus: As Told By Chibi (2022) |
| Television special(s) | Hocus Pocus 25th Anniversary Halloween Bash (2018) |
| Games | |
| Video game(s) |
|
| Audio | |
| Soundtrack(s) |
|
| Miscellaneous | |
| Toy(s) | Lego Hocus Pocus |
| Theme park attraction(s) |
|
Hocus Pocus is an Americanmedia franchise consisting of two films, a sequelnovelization, and otherDisney media and merchandise. The series was created byDavid Kirschner andMick Garris.
| Film | U.S. release date | Director | Screenwriter(s) | Story by | Producer(s) | Release type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hocus Pocus | July 16, 1993 (1993-07-16) | Kenny Ortega | Mick Garris and Neil Cuthbert | David Kirschner and Mick Garris | David Kirschner andSteven Haft | Theatrical |
| Hocus Pocus 2 | September 30, 2022 (2022-09-30) | Anne Fletcher | Jen D'Angelo | David Kirschner & Blake Harris and Jen D'Angelo | Lynn Harris | Disney+ original |
| Hocus Pocus 3 | TBA | Jen D'Angelo | TBA | |||
300 years ago, in 1693, inSalem, Massachusetts, the Sanderson sisters were hanged by the population of Salem after a boy named Thackery Binx tried to stop the witches and was turned into an immortal black cat while saving his sister Emily. Before they die, Winifred (the oldest of the sisters) casts a spell stating they will return when a virgin lights a black candle in their house. In the present day, 1993, a newcomer fromLos Angeles, California, Max, is bullied at school by two bullies, and has a crush on his schoolmate Allison. On Halloween night, his parents force him to go trick-or-treating with his sister Dani while they go to a party. Max and Dani stumbles upon the house of Allison and decide to go to the house of the Sanderson sisters. While at the house, Max lights a black candle and brings back Winifred, along with her sisters Sarah and Mary Sanderson. The sisters have but one night to suck the essence of the children of Salem and survive for more than one night before sunrise. But Max, Allison, and Dani want to avoid their wish to come true, so they team up with a 300-year-old cat and Winifred's lover, Billy Butcherson, to save the day.
In 1653, in Salem, the teenage Winifred Sanderson is banned from the village by the local Reverend Traske after refusing to marry John Pritchett. After causing havoc in the town, she runs with sister Sarah and Mary to a forbidden forest. There, they meet the Mother Witch, who gives Winifred a magic spell book. In the present day, 29 years after the events of the first film, in 2022, an aspirant witch named Becca is celebrating her 16th birthday with her friend Izzy. When the owner of a magic store named Gilbert gives a magic black candle to Becca for her birthday, she goes to the forest with Izzy along with their other friend Cassie and they accidentally summon the Sanderson sisters. Winifred, Sarah, and Mary Sanderson return to seek children to eat and plan revenge against Reverend Traske's descendants. The trio must figure out how to stop the child-hungry witches from wreaking havoc on the world.
In October 2022, executive producerAdam Shankman stated that the storyline involving Becca allows for future projects, including potential spin-offs.[1] By February 2023, Midler stated that while nothing was official she was open to returning in a sequel.[2][3]Kathy Najimy,Sarah Jessica Parker,Belissa Escobedo, andLilia Buckingham as well as original film starsOmri Katz,Vinessa Shaw, andJason Marsden each expressed interest in returning for a third installment.[4][5][6] In June 2023,Sean Bailey, president ofWalt Disney Studios Motion Picture Production, confirmed that a third film is in development, and planned for a release on Disney+.[7][8] Later that month, it was announced that Anne Fletcher will once again serve as director, with a script written by Jen D'Angelo.[9] In October 2023, D'Angelo confirmed that work on the script had already begun.[10] In July 2024, during an appearance onQVC'sBusy This Week, Midler confirmed while she still hasn't seen a script for the film yet, she was still open to reprising her role.[11] The following year, in July 2025,Sarah Jessica Parker revealed onWatch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen that while the development progress on the movie was slow, she was still open to returning, and that conversations are currently ongoing to try to make it happen.[12] In October 2025, Tobias Jelinek, who played Jay Taylor in the original film, expressed his interest in reprising his role in the third film.[13] That same day, during an appearance onWatch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, Bette Midler confirmed that there was a script for the movie, citing discussions, budget and rewrites talks were ongoing.[14]
On October 20, 2018, a special entitledHocus Pocus 25th Anniversary Halloween Bash aired onFreeform. The special featured interviews with members of the cast, includingBette Midler,Sarah Jessica Parker, andKathy Najimy, as well as a costume contest hosted bySharon andKelly Osbourne. It was filmed at theHollywood Forever Cemetery.[15][16]
In September 2022, franchise creator and executive producer forHocus Pocus 2 David Kirschner, stated that he has ideas for a spin-off television series. Inspired byBuffy the Vampire Slayer, Kirschner stated that the concept revolves around Salem's supernatural history, including characters whose names appear on the tombstones during the first film.[17]
In 2022,Disney Channel ran a short titledHocus Pocus: As Told By Chibi. This continues the trend started byBig Hero 6: The Series shorts spin-offBig Chibi 6 The Shorts and continued with several Disney franchises. The short was released on October 15, 2022, simplifies the plot of the firstHocus Pocus.[18][19]
This section includes characters who will appear or have appeared in more than two films in the series.
| Characters | Films | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Hocus Pocus | Hocus Pocus 2 | Hocus Pocus 3 | |
| 1993 | 2022 | TBA | |
| Winifred "Winnie" Sanderson | Bette Midler | Bette Midler Taylor Paige HendersonY | TBA |
| Sarah Sanderson | Sarah Jessica Parker | Sarah Jessica Parker Juju BrenerY | |
| Mary Sanderson | Kathy Najimy | Kathy Najimy Nina KitchenY | |
| William "Billy" Butcherson | Doug Jones | Doug Jones Austin J. RyanY | |
| Maximilian "Max" Dennison | Omri Katz | Uncredited Actors | |
| Danielle "Dani" Dennison | Thora Birch | ||
| Allison Watts | Vinessa Shaw | ||
| David Dennison | Charles Rocket | ||
| Jennifer Dennison | Stephanie Faracy | ||
| Thackery Binx | Sean Murray Jason MarsdenV | ||
| Emily Binx | Amanda Shepherd | Amanda ShepherdA | |
| Miss Olin | Kathleen Freeman | ||
| Master Devil | Garry Marshall | Garry MarshallA | |
| Medusa Lady | Penny Marshall | Penny MarshallA | |
| Ernie "Ice" | Larry Bagby | ||
| Jay | Tobias Jelinek | ||
| Elijah | Steve Voboril | ||
| Mr. Binx | Norbert Weisser | ||
| Gilbert | Sam Richardson Jaylin PryorY | ||
| Becca | Whitney Peak | ||
| Izzy | Belissa Escobedo | ||
| Jefry Traske | Tony Hale | ||
| Reverend Traske | Tony Hale | ||
| Mother Witch | Hannah Waddingham | ||
| Cassie Traske | Lilia Buckingham | ||
| Mike | Froy Gutierrez | ||
| Film | Crew/Detail | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Composer | Cinematographer | Editor | Production companies | Distributing company | Running time | ||
| Hocus Pocus | John Debney | Hiro Narita | Peter E. Berger | Walt Disney Pictures, Touchwood Pacific Partners 1 | Buena Vista Pictures Distribution | 1 hr 36 mins[20] | |
| Hocus Pocus 2 | Elliot Davis | Julia Wong | Walt Disney Pictures, David Kirschner Productions, Weimaraner Republic Pictures, Disney+ Original Films | Disney+ | 1 hr 43 mins[21] | ||
In 2009, duringABC Family's (nowFreeform)13 Nights of Halloween lineup, a broadcast of the first film garnered 2.5 million viewers.[22] In 2011, an October 29 airing became the lineup's most watched program, garnering 2.8 million viewers.[23] In 2018, the lineup, now known as31 Nights of Halloween during its 25th anniversary year, the first week ofHocus Pocus viewings garnered 8.2 million viewers.[24]
According toWhip Media,Hocus Pocus was the most watched movie across all platforms in the United States during the week of October 31, 2021.[25] According toWhip Media,Hocus Pocus was the 2nd most watched movie across all platforms in the United States during the week of September 30, 2022 to October 2, 2022,[26][27] the 7th during the week of October 9, 2022,[28][29] and the 9th during the week of October 23, 2022.[30]
In October 2022,Disney+ reportedHocus Pocus 2 was the service's most-viewed-film premiere in the United States, based on the number of hours streamed in the first three days of its release.[31][32][33] Disney later reported thatHocus Pocus 2 was the service's most-viewed film.[34][35]
According toWhip Media,Hocus Pocus 2 was the 2nd most anticipated film of September 2022,[36] the most watched straight-to-streaming title of 2022 in its first three days,[34] as of October 2022,[37][38] the most watched film across all platforms in the United States during the week of September 30, 2022, to October 2, 2022,[26][27] the 2nd during the week of October 9, 2022,[28][29] the 4th during the week of October 23, 2022,[30] as well as the 4th during the week of October 30, 2022,[39] and the 9th during the week of November 4, 2022 to November 6, 2022.[40] According to the streaming aggregator Reelgood,Hocus Pocus 2 was the most watched program across all platforms during the weeks of October 5, 2022, and October 14, 2022.[41]
| Film | Release date | Box office gross | Box office ranking | Budget | Ref(s) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States opening weekend | North America | Other territories | Worldwide | All time North America | All time worldwide | ||||
| Hocus Pocus | July 16, 1993 | $8,125,471 | $44,101,060 | $1,046,929 | $45,147,989 | #2,056 | — | $28 million | [42][43] |
| Hocus Pocus 2 | September 30, 2022 | — | — | — | — | — | — | $40 million | [44] |
| Totals | 44,101,060 | 1,046,929 | 45,147,989 | $68 million | — | ||||
| Film | Critical | Public | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rotten Tomatoes | Metacritic | CinemaScore | |
| Hocus Pocus | 40% (63 reviews)[45] | 43 (27 reviews)[46] | B+[47] |
| Hocus Pocus 2 | 65% (157 reviews)[48] | 56 (32 reviews)[49] | — |
In July 2018, a book entitledHocus Pocus and the All-New Sequel was released, containing a novelization of film and a sequel story. The sequel focuses of Max and Allison's daughter, Poppy, who grew up hearing the family story of the original film and parents who avoid Halloween as much as possible. Poppy is skeptical of the tale and ends up in the Sanderson house on Halloween, 25 years to the day the original film takes place, in an attempt to prove there is nothing to the story.[59]
In September 2016, entertainment critic Aaron Wallace publishedHocus Pocus in Focus: The Thinking Fan's Guide to Disney's Halloween Classic, the first full-length book written about the film. The book includes a foreword byThora Birch and afterword byMick Garris. Billed as a "lighthearted but scholarly look at the film", the book analyzes the film's major themes, which it identifies as festivity, nostalgia, home, horror, virginity, feminism, Broadway-style musical moments, sibling rivalry, "Spielbergian" filmmaking style, Disney villain traditions, and more. Wallace also analyzesWalt Disney World'sHocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular as part of the film's legacy and includes "the largest collection ofHocus Pocus fun facts and trivia ever assembled", complete with extensive endnote citations.[60][61][62]
The Sanderson sisters appear as playable characters in Disney video games such asDisney Magic Kingdoms (2016)[63] andDisney Heroes: Battle Mode (2018).
During an interview onThe Big Seance Podcast in September 2021, creator David Kirschner revealed that a Broadway adaptation of the original film is in development."[64] During an interview leading up to the release ofHocus Pocus 2 in September 2022, he stated that "I just want to pinch myself, and I'm just afraid that I'm going to be 9 years old and on a Little League field again. But it's just so wonderful just to stand back and watch all of this ... I think you're going to be very pleased."[65]Kenny Ortega, the director of the original film, previously revealed toForbes in September 2020 of his interest to direct the production, stating "I think aHocus Pocus musical would be great fun, really great fun."[66]
In September 2015, theHocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular was introduced at theMagic Kingdom as part ofMickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party atWalt Disney World. The show features the Sanderson sisters who try to make a villain party and summon or attract various Disney villains in the process.[67]
Since 2009, "I Put a Spell on You" which features prominently in the first movie, plays during the audience exit for thefireworks showHalloween Screams forMickey's Halloween Party atDisneyland.
On July 4, 2023, Hocus Pocus: The Sanderson Sisters’ Cottage (set number: 21341) was released and is based on a scene from the firstHocus Pocus. The winning project's announcement came over two months before the release of the sequelHocus Pocus 2. The set consists of 2316 pieces with 6 minifigures. The set included Lego minifigures of the three Sanderson Sisters (Winifred, Sarah and Mary), Max, Danni, Allison and Thackery Binx as a black cat.[68]
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