The highly anticipated sequel Hocus Pocus 2 is the No. 1 film premiere on Disney+ domestically to date, based on the hours streamed in the first three days of its release.
Set 29 years after the events of the 1993 cult classic Hocus Pocus, the resurrected 17th-century Sanderson sisters return and are looking for revenge. Now it is up to three high-school students to stop the ravenous witches from wreaking a new kind of havoc on Salem before dawn on All Hallow’s Eve.
The streamer did not release the number of hours streamed during the first three days.
The film sees Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kathy Najimy and Doug Jones reprise their roles from the first film. Original cast members Omri Katz, Thora Birch and Vinessa Shaw did not return for the sequel. Sam Richardson, Whitney Peak, Belissa Escobedo, Tony Hale and Hannah Waddingham joined the cast in new roles.
Walt Disney Pictures released Hocus Pocus on July 16, 1993. It did not do well at the box office and garnered mixed to unfavorable reviews from critics upon release. However, the film was rediscovered by viewers thanks in large part to numerous annual airings on Disney Channel and Freeform over the whole month of October, leading to an annual increase in home media sales of the movie every Halloween season. This popularity led Disney+ to greenlight a sequel in October 2019.