Hocus Pocus 2 — news, coverage & facts — IJR

Plot

In 1653 Salem, Massachusetts, Reverend Traske banishes a 16-year-old Winifred Sanderson after she "defied church authority" by refusing to marry John Pritchett. Rather than be away from her sisters, Mary and Sarah, Winifred takes them to a forest. There, they meet the Mother Witch, who gives Winifred a magic book for her birthday; she also warns the trio against ever casting the Magicae Maxima spell, which makes the user "all-powerful". The Mother Witch teaches the trio how to keep their youth by using children. The sisters get revenge on the Reverend by cursing his home, which is engulfed in flames.

In 2022, 29 years after the sisters were resurrected by the Black Flame Candle, Salem teenagers Becca and Izzy prepare to celebrate Halloween and Becca's 16th birthday but turn down a party invite from their former friend, Cassie Traske. Becca and Izzy visit a magic shop, housed in the Sandersons' former cottage; the owner, Gilbert, gives Becca a candle for an annual birthday that is another Black Flame Candle. As there is a full moon and the girls are virgins, the candle resurrects the Sanderson sisters. The girls outwit the sisters in a Walgreens and flee to the magic shop, where they find that Gilbert tricked them into reviving the witches, having seen them on Halloween in 1993 and having read how to make the candle in the spell book.

The sisters catch up to the girls and see a campaign flyer belonging to Mayor Jefry Traske, Cassie's father and one of Reverend Traske's direct descendants. Winifred decides they will cast the Magicae Maxima spell to eliminate him and take revenge on modern Salem. The sisters trap Izzy and Becca in the basement and leave to hunt down the mayor, whose blood is needed to complete the spell. They force Gilbert to collect the other ingredients.

The girls escape and head to the Traske house to warn the mayor while the sisters find their way to the town's Halloween carnival and enchant the citizens to help them find the mayor. Meanwhile, Gilbert digs up Billy Butcherson, who has been entombed since 1993. He needs Billy's head for the spell but tricks him into helping him collect the other ingredients first. The girls reunite with Cassie and trap the sisters in a salt circle in Cassie's garage before Mayor Traske returns home. The three girls make up, but their reunion is interrupted when the sisters escape the circle and kidnap Cassie to use her blood instead. Becca and Izzy follow them to the forbidden forest where Gilbert has assembled the ingredients and discover that Becca, like the sisters, is a natural witch.

The sisters partially cast the spell and increase their power, but Becca distracts them while Izzy rescues Cassie. Becca convinces Book that it does not have to answer to Winifred, and she and Book flee into the forest. Book shows them the warning against the Magicae Maxima spell, stating that whoever casts it must give up what they cherish most as the price for the power. The girls agree to warn Winifred of the price of the spell but are too late, and she becomes all-powerful as Mary and Sarah fade to dust. Winifred begs the girls to use their newfound powers to save her sisters. While they cannot save them, Becca, Cassie, and Izzy join in a coven and cast a reuniting spell, so Winifred happily fades away to be with her sisters.

Gilbert and Billy rejoin the girls, and Billy starts to fade away, realizing that Winifred's spells have been undone. The girls decide to give Book a new home and continue practicing magic as they walk into the night. As they leave, a crow, identical to one that the Mother Witch shapeshifted into, flies overhead.

In a post-credit scene, it is revealed that inside Gilbert's shop there is another Black Flame Candle.

Cast

Bette Midler as Winifred "Winnie" Sanderson, the oldest of the three Sanderson sisters. As the leader of the trio, Winifred is often frustrated by her younger sisters' incompetence.

Taylor Paige Henderson as young Winifred Sanderson

Skyla Sousa as teen Winifred Sanderson

Sarah Jessica Parker as Sarah Sanderson, the youngest and most beautiful yet dim-witted of the three Sanderson sisters. Sarah's magical gift is a hypnotic siren call, which she uses to lure children

Juju Brener as young Sarah Sanderson

Emma Kaufman as teen Sarah Sanderson

Kathy Najimy as Mary Sanderson, the middle of the three Sanderson sisters. Mary has the magical ability to track children with an enhanced sense of smell

Nina Kitchen as young Mary Sanderson

Aiden Torres as teen Mary Sanderson

Whitney Peak as Becca, a high school student and aspiring witch who accidentally conjures the Sanderson Sisters on her 16th birthday.

Belissa Escobedo as Izzy, Becca's best friend. She accidentally conjures the Sanderson Sisters with Becca.

Lilia Buckingham as Cassie Traske, the Mayor's daughter and an estranged popular friend of Becca and Izzy

Sam Richardson as Gilbert, the owner of the Olde Salem Magic Shoppe, the former home of the Sanderson Sisters

Jaylin Pryor as teen Gilbert

Doug Jones as William "Billy" Butcherson, a former love interest of Winifred. She spitefully poisoned when she caught him with her sister Sarah. He is raised from the dead as a zombie

Austin J. Ryan as young William "Billy" Butcherson

Tony Hale as Jefry Traske, the Mayor of Salem and father of Cassie.

Hale also played Reverend Traske, Jefry and Cassie's 17th century ancestor

Hannah Waddingham as the Mother Witch, a witch who gifts the spell book to the young Sanderson Sisters.

Froy Gutierrez as Mike, Cassie's boyfriend

Ginger Minj, Kornbread Jeté, and Kahmora Hall as drag queens impersonating Winifred, Mary, and Sarah, respectively, during a contest.

Amanda Shepherd, Norbert Weisser, Garry Marshall and Penny Marshall make uncredited appearances as Emily Binx, Mr. Binx, Master Devil and Medusa Lady through archive footage from the first film. Additionally, three stand-in extras portrayed Max Dennison, Dani Dennison and Allison Watts, the three protagonists of the first film, originally portrayed by Omri Katz, Thora Birch and Vinessa Shaw, in a flashback sequence narrated by Gilbert to The Sanderson Sisters.

Development

In July 2014, it was announced that The Walt Disney Company was developing a supernatural-themed film about witches and that Tina Fey was on board as a producer and star. However, Deadline Hollywood debunked rumors that the film was a sequel to Hocus Pocus. In November 2014, Bette Midler said in a Reddit "Ask Me Anything" that she was ready and willing to return for a sequel as Winifred Sanderson. She also said her co-stars Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy were interested in reprising the roles of Sarah and Mary Sanderson as well, but stressed that Disney had yet to greenlight any sequel, encouraging fans of the original film to persuade Disney to make one. In November 2015, Midler stated in a Facebook Q&A that "after all these years and all the fan demand, I do believe I can stand and firmly say an unequivocal no" in response to a question about a sequel.

In June 2016, actor Doug Jones mentioned that Disney had been considering a sequel, and behind the scenes discussions were in place to possibly continue the series. In October 2016, while promoting her HBO series Divorce, Sarah Jessica Parker was asked by Andy Cohen about a sequel. Her response was "I would love that. I think we've been very vocal that we're very keen", yet she insisted that fans should encourage Disney to develop a sequel. In Hocus Pocus in Focus: The Thinking Fan's Guide to Disney's Halloween Classic, author Aaron Wallace identifies several potential approaches for a sequel, but notes that the project's biggest challenge is the Walt Disney Studios' interest in tentpole projects that promise very high box office returns.

In September 2017, Hocus Pocus writer Mick Garris admitted that he was working on a script for Hocus Pocus 2 after years of rumors and speculation and that it would potentially be developed as a television film for Disney Channel, Freeform or ABC. It was later confirmed that it would be instead a remake to air on Freeform, with The Royals writer Scarlett Lacey attached to write and the original film producer David Kirschner executive producing, with original director Kenny Ortega not expected to be involved. The following month, Midler said she was not fond of the idea of a remake and she would not be taking part in it regardless she was offered some kind of role or not, expressing doubts on how they would be able to successfully recast her role as Winifred Sanderson.

In February 2018, Jones revealed that there had been talks to do a sequel set twenty years after the original film and that he was approached to be involved on it, though he admitted that he was still interested on reprising his role as Billy Butcherson. In July 2018, a book titled Hocus Pocus and the All-New Sequel was released, containing a novelization of the film and a sequel story. The sequel focuses on 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, twenty-five years to the day after the movie, in an attempt to prove there is nothing to the story.

In October 2019, a sequel was announced to be in development as a Disney+ exclusive film, with a screenplay written by Jen D'Angelo. In March 2020, Adam Shankman signed on to direct Hocus Pocus 2 concurrently to his work on the Enchanted sequel Disenchanted.

Viewership

According to market research company Parrot Analytics, which looks at consumer engagement in consumer research, streaming, downloads, and on social media, Hocus Pocus 2 was the most in-demand "horror" movie in the U.S., with demand 59.39 times the average movie, in the first four days of October. Whip Media, which tracks viewership data for the more than 21 million worldwide users of its TV Time app, reported that Hocus Pocus 2 was the most-streamed film in the U.S. from September 30 to October 2. It maintained strong rankings throughout October, including second place in the week of October 9, fourth place in the weeks of October 23 and October 30, and ninth place in the week of November 6. The streaming aggregator Reelgood, which tracks real-time data from 5 million U.S. users for original and acquired content across SVOD and AVOD services, reported the film as the most-streamed program in the U.S. for the week ending October 5.

The Walt Disney Company announced that Hocus Pocus 2 was its most-viewed film premiere in the U.S. within the first three days of release. Disney later reported it as the most-viewed film on Disney+ at that time. Whip Media also reported that Hocus Pocus 2 was the most-watched straight-to-streaming title of 2022 in its first three days. Nielsen Media Research, which records streaming viewership on certain American television screens, calculated that Hocus Pocus 2 was streamed for 2.725 billion minutes from September 26 to October 2, making it the second most-streamed film during that week. Hocus Pocus 2 recorded the largest opening weekend for a film in Nielsen's streaming rankings, with 2.7 billion minutes viewed following its September 30 premiere. It surpassed the previous record held by Encanto, which drew 2.2 billion minutes during its first three days, and Frozen 2, which registered 2.17 billion minutes following its debut on Disney+ on March 15. In the following week, Hocus Pocus 2 was streamed for 1.099 billion minutes, making it the most-streamed film for a second consecutive week.

Critical response

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported an approval rating of 65% based on 157 reviews, with an average rating of 5.8/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Hocus Pocus 2 is basically a boiling cauldron of nostalgia, but that's more than enough for this belated sequel to cast a reasonably effective spell." Metacritic gave it a weighted average score of 56 out of 100 based on 32 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.

Ani Bundel of NBC News stated that the film is a joyful experience, appealing to both young children just discovering Halloween and teenagers who still enjoy family movies. However, Bundel emphasized that the film is primarily aimed at viewers aged 25 and older, whom Disney has spent the last two decades cultivating to appreciate a new installment of this emerging cult classic franchise. Claire Shaffer of The New York Times noted that, despite the film being a clear effort by Disney to bolster its Disney+ platform, it successfully captures the nostalgic charm of the original while also offering a creative update to its humor. Jennifer Green of Common Sense Media awarded the movie four out of five stars, praising its positive messages, role models, and diverse character representations. She described the film as a "campy but entertaining sequel." Amelia Emberwing of IGN rated the film 7 out of 10, noting that while the returning Sanderson sisters capture the magic of the original Hocus Pocus, and new characters provide fresh appeal, Hannah Waddingham's role was underutilized. Emberwing pointed out that despite some subpar greenscreen effects, the film retains a charming Disney Channel Original Movie feel.

Lovia Gyarkye of The Hollywood Reporter observed that the Sanderson sisters maintain their sharp wit and humor as they navigate modern-day Salem on Halloween, making playful remarks about contemporary life. However, Gyarkye noted that while they still embody a thirst for evil and a disdain for children, their edge is softened by the film's approach to toning down their villainous nature. Nell Minow of RogerEbert.com rated the film three and a half stars out of four, stating that Hocus Pocus 2 successfully appeals to fans of all generations. Minow noted that the sequel honors the original while incorporating modern updates and welcome diversity, reducing violence and adding a slightly sweeter tone. Jude Dry of IndieWire gave the sequel a "B-" score and described it as a "totally satisfactory" return for the Sanderson sisters, though the plot largely mirrors the original, with updated jokes. Dry noted that the sisters’ once sharp edge has softened, with the film leaning on a contrived sisterly bond to conclude the story. The review also pointed out that the script introduces a saccharine tone and an overt teen feminist message, suggesting that some elements might have been better left in the past.

Benjamin Lee of The Guardian rated the film two out of four stars, expressing disappointment in the sequel. Lee remarked that while Bette Midler returns alongside her child-killing sisters, the follow-up falls flat, largely due to its excessive efforts to soften the villains. Helen O'Hara of Empire rated the movie two out of five stars, criticizing it for being as unevenly plotted as the original while lacking the element of surprise. O'Hara remarked that the film is not "good" and suggested that there should be better options between its "gooey and ghoulish" tone.

Sequel

In October 2022, executive producer Adam Shankman stated that the storyline involving Becca allows for future projects, including potential spin-offs. By February 2023, Bette Midler stated that while nothing was official she was open to returning in a sequel. Kathy Najimy, Sarah Jessica Parker, Belissa Escobedo, and Lilia Buckingham as well as original film stars Omri Katz, Vinessa Shaw, and Jason Marsden each expressed interest in returning for a third installment. In June 2023, Sean Bailey, president of Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture Production, confirmed that a third film is in development, and planned for a release on Disney+. A few days later, Omri Katz expressed interest in reprising his role as Max Dennison for the third film only if asked by Disney. Later that month, it was announced that Anne Fletcher will once again serve as director, with a script written by Jen D'Angelo. In October 2023, D'Angelo confirmed that work on the script had already begun. In July 2024, Midler confirmed that the film was still in development. Later that same month, during an appearance on QVC's Busy This Week, she confirmed that she has not seen a script for the film yet, but has heard rumblings of one. The following year, in July 2025, Parker revealed on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen that while the development progress on the movie was slow, conversations are currently ongoing to try to make it happen. On October 16, 2025, Tobias Jelinek, who played Jay Taylor in the original film, expressed his interest in reprising his role in the third film. Two days later, on October 18, during an appearance on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, Midler confirmed that there was a script for the movie, citing discussions, budget and rewrites talks were ongoing. Later that same month, Thora Birch, who played Dani Dennison in the original film, stated that she was "super open" to returning to her role in the third film. In May 2026, a third film was officially announced with Midler, Parker, and Najimy confirmed to reprise their roles.

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