How ‘Hocus Pocus’ Went From Box-Office Flop To Cherished Halloween Franchise
When Hocus Pocus was originally released in theaters in July 1993, the film was not greeted as the Halloween classic that it would eventually become.
Instead, the film’s summer release was met with dismal reviews and box office failure.
Photo: Variety
“It bombed,” said creator David Kirschner. “It came out in the summer against the original ‘Jurassic Park.’ There was a tearful weekend and I thought that was the end of it.”
Little did Kirschner know, the story of Hocus Pocus was only beginning.
Gaining a Cult Following
Following the film’s release, the terrifying tale of the Sanderson sisters became something of a cult favorite, a film cherished by fans who could only watch it on VHS and Laserdisc.
In the mid-1990s, Disney also began to air the film on ABC and the Disney Channel around Halloween, suddenly, the film was picking up momentum.
Photo: Variety
“The numbers weren’t great, but they weren’t bad,” Kirschner says of its Disney Channel run.
Becoming A Classic
Then in 2001, something magical happened. Disney purchased the Family Network, rebranding the station as ABC Family. The cable network was then infused with new content by Disney, including a library of spooky films as part of the season 13 Nights of Halloween programming. Suddenly, Hocus Pocus was able to find its audience.
Photo IMDB
The film continued to gain popularity as new fans discovered the magic of the Sandersons.
By the 2010’s the film was averaging over two million viewers from prime time airings. By 2019, it was shown 30 times during Freeform’s (the former ABC Family) expanded 21 Nights of Halloween.
Pitching ‘Hocus Pocus 2’
As the film’s popularity continued to grow, Kirschner returned to Disney to pitch ideas for a possible sequel.
Photo: Disney
“It was a great meeting and then we didn’t hear anything,” he says. “It took them six months to get back to us and they passed.”
While Disney didn’t want to release a Hocus Pocus 2 theatrically, they did allow Kirschner to take the project to television.
Photo Credit: Disney+
Initially, Kirschner hoped that Freeform would take on Hocus Pocus 2, after all, the channel had been instrumental in rewriting the history of the first film
Freeform also passed on the film, sending the project to the Disney Channel. There it languished as another Hollywood project stuck in developmental hell.
Photo Credit: Disney+
Once again, however, as if by fate, Hocus Pocus was revived once more.
Landing on Disney+
When Disney decided to get into the streaming business with the creation of Disney+, the company knew it needed new content.
After years of rumors, Hocus Pocus 2 was officially ordered as a “marquee movie event” for Disney+ in 2021.
The film saw the return of stars Bette Midler, Kathy Najimy, and Sarah Jessica Parker as the fearsome-yet-funny Sanderson sisters. The film tells the story of three girls who accidentally summon the witches from hell.
A Massive Success
Unlike the first film, Hocus Pocus 2 was an immediate success. The film delivered 2.7 billion minutes streamed in its opening weekend last September and became perhaps the biggest Disney+ original film. Additionally, this time, critics warmly received the movie, and Hocus Pocus 2 scored three Emmy nominations.
In fact, the film was so popular that a third Hocus Pocus has already been ordered, with sequel director Anne Fletcher signed on to direct again.
“It has been a long road yet again to get ‘Hocus Pocus 2’ made, so it was nice to see the third one came so naturally because the numbers were so astounding,” Kirschner says.
Photo: Disney
At a time when studios are scrambling to try and create new franchises, Disney had one fall into their laps. Exactly what kind of magic Hocus Pocus used to survive its unimaginable journey remains a secret. But, it doesn’t look like that magic is running out anytime soon.
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