Given the intensity of the original movie’s fans, maybe this isn’t too shocking but: Hocus Pocus 2 is a big hit on Disney+. According to a press release, it is now the #1 film premiere on Disney+ to date “based on hours streamed in the first three days of its release.”
Nearly 30 years after the original film — which was a flop in theaters in 1993 but became a cult favorite thanks to endless replays on cable and home video — Disney was able to reunite the original Sanderson sisters, Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kathy Najimy, for a movie that sees their witches return to life yet again to haunt modern day Salem.
While the film has proven popular with streamers, it hasn’t gotten fabulous reviews. It’s currently at 62 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, and our own review at ScreenCrush said:
Kids: Don’t try this at home. In fact, maybe don’t try watching Hocus Pocus 2 at home either, even though the movie is going straight to streaming on Disney+. Fans of the original Hocus Pocus beware: This movie seems to have put more thought into the pharmacy product placement than coming up with a reason the wicked Sanderson sisters would return to Salem — or why it took them 29 years (since the events of the first movie) to do it.
That Hocus Pocus 2 has been watched a lot by Disney+ subscribers isn’t surprising. The real perplexing part is why Disney didn’t release this movie to theaters in the first place. The original movie made $39 million in U.S. theaters. You’re telling me this long-awaited sequel wouldn’t have made more than that? More than double that? The decision to go straight to Disney+ and leave that money on the tape still confuses me.
Hocus Pocus 2 is now available on Disney+. (So is the original movie.)
Sign up for Disney+ here.
The Worst Movie Titles in History
Some of these films were good, others were bad. But they all have one thing in common. They have absolutely terrible titles.
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