Halloween Season Gives Disney a Boost
Disney+ turns five years old this week. So, it’s still too young to have trends per se.
Still, we’ve picked up a few consistent behaviors over the years, one of which occurs each October.
Photo: Disney
Yes, the Halloween season always boosts Disney, giving all its streaming services a huge spike in viewership.
This October has proven no different thus far. Let’s discuss how the Scream Economy benefits Disney’s streaming services, too.
The Unholy Duo
Wall Street Journal
As I discussed last week, the start of October signals an annual change on the Nielsen Streaming Charts.
Two perennial favorites rise at this time of year, garnering exponentially more attention than during the first nine months.
Photo: Disney
The one I mentioned last time is Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas, which rises from the dead every October.
When this beloved classic exited theaters in 1994, it had a box office total of $50 million.
Photo: Disney
Thanks to its most recent return in October 2024, it now claims $94 million in box office.
So, the film’s lasting appeal has doubled its box office during the past 30 years.
Photo: Disney
I cannot think of another title that has returned to theaters eight different times during the 2000s.
Nightmare Before Christmas holds that odd distinction due to its undying appeal.
Photo: Disney
In fact, the film didn’t chart this week for an amusing reason. People were watching it in theaters instead!
For the week of October 7th through October 13th, the Tim Burton classic re-entered theaters and immediately finished ninth at the box office.
Photo: IMDB
The film earned $2.4 million, which was more than 2024 releases like Megalopolis, Speak No Evil, and Deadpool & Wolverine.
No matter when Disney re-releases Nightmare Before Christmas, it proves similarly popular. And it has a companion.
Hocus Pocus Movie Poster
Hocus Pocus often does the same. In fact, it finished 12th at the box office just three weeks ago!
Meanwhile, the popular Sanderson Sisters film made its 2024 debut on the Nielsen Streaming Charts with 208 million minutes.
Hocus Pocus – Sanderson Sisters – 1993
These two titles alone have provided the backbone of Disney’s content strategy since the inception of Disney+.
However, there’s also a third title…
Treehouse of Horror
Photo: The Simpsons
I’m one of those creepy people you avoid at parties because I can hold entire conversations where I only quote The Simpsons.
It’s a skill. An incredibly worthless, intensely aggravating skill.
‘Treehouse of Horror’
As a Simpsons fan, I’ve known for decades now that the show’s popularity soars each October.
That’s because the show has hosted 35 episodes of Treehouse of Horror alone.
Now, that’s not much once we consider that The Simpsons alone has aired 778 episodes over its 36 seasons.
Still, 35 specialty episodes represent an almost incomprehensible total.
For comparison, the heavily hyped Stranger Things has produced 42 episodes across five seasons, and eight of those episodes have yet to air.
So, we’ve had more Treehouse of Horror episodes than Stranger Things throughout the storied history of those two programs.
Photo: Fox
Given that mind-boggling statement, you won’t be surprised to learn that The Simpsons experiences a viewership surge each October.
The show offers roughly 12 hours of Treehouse of Horror episodes that fans can and faithfully do binge-watch during the holidays.
Not coincidentally, The Simpsons re-entered Nielsen’s Acquired chart this week with 512 million minutes.
Thus, I would argue that it’s actually the most watched of the three programs, although that’s not an apples-to-apples comparison.
Photo: Fox
The movies have run times of 75-90 minutes. You could watch Nightmare Before Christmas nearly ten times while a friend binges every Treehouse of Horror.
Still, the point is that this three-headed comedy-horror monstrosity forms a backbone for Disney streaming in October.
Photo: The Simpsons
This trend should last for another two or three weeks on the charts, and it’ll come back in 2025 as well.
There’s just no reason for it to stop because the programs are, if anything, growing in popularity.
Disney’s Other Streaming Hits
Photo: English Jargon
This was a relatively uneventful week overall on the streaming charts, as Disney content claimed four of the top ten titles overall.
On the Acquired Chart, Disney programs held down the top four spots overall and 60 percent of the top ten.
IMDB
Here are the totals for those six programs:
- Bob’s Burgers – 864 million viewer minutes
- Bluey – 844 million viewer minutes
- Family Guy – 765 million viewer minutes
- Grey’s Anatomy – 657 million viewer minutes
- Law & Order: Special Victims Unit – 565 million viewer minutes
- The Simpsons – 512 million viewer minutes (as mentioned)
This Inside Out concept art features Shame standing next to Anxiety. Photo: Reddit
On the Movies chart, Inside Out 2 fell to 513 million viewer minutes, which shouldn’t alarm anyone.
Given the tremendous box office success of the film, it appears Disney has successfully retrained consumers to watch Pixar titles in theaters.
Image: Pixar
Also, Inside Out 2 skews older. So, it’s not the kind of programming parents leave for their kids to watch on repeat.
That’s more of a Moana/Encanto move. Inside Out 2 gets a bit intense at times.
AGATHA ALL ALONG, exclusively on Disney+. © 2024 MARVEL.
Finally, Agatha All Along returned to the charts after a one-week absence.
After the game-changing fifth episode, the MCU program earned 310 million viewer minutes.
Photo: Empire
Based on what Disney has revealed about the ratings for the seventh-ninth episodes, it should appear at least two of the next three weeks as well.
Also, Marvel is discussing sequel series options for some of the characters.
Photo: Getty Images/Ringer illustration
Agatha All Along appears to be a much-needed hit for Marvel on Disney+.
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