The Sanderson Sisters are coming back, with a third Hocus Pocus officially in the works, and a recent report on the film suggests that Disney is making the right choice when it comes to the next movie in the iconic series.
News of a Hocus Pocus 3 first popped up this week, when Deadline reported the movie was in early development from Disney Live Action Studios. All three main stars, including Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy all set to return.
What’s more exciting, though, is Deadline’s report that there are plans for a theatrical distribution for the movie. This is huge news, as the sequel to the original film, which was released in 2022, was released only on Disney+. While Disney refused to comment on the news, should the third film get a theatrical release, it would show that Disney is finally moving off of a stand it had in the early 2020s, and making a smart move overall.
Hocus Pocus 3’s theatrical release proves Disney is making the right moves
In the early 2020s, particularly due in part to the COVID-19 pandemic, Disney (and several other movie studios) made the decision to begin releasing a number of films exclusively on streaming platforms. For Disney, this meant a number of high-profile movies, including Pixar films like Soul, Turning Red, Luca, and other non-animated movies like Disenchanted and Hocus Pocus 2, were all relegated to the streaming platform instead of given a typical theatrical release.
While a theatrical release doesn’t always guarantee success, for a movie like Hocus Pocus 3, it might help in a lot of ways. Hocus Pocus 2 was received with mixed reviews from critics, but largely loved by fans, mostly due to the nostalgia and love of the original 1993 film. Furthermore, the movie — which released in September to capitalize on the Halloween time period — was one of the biggest “horror” movies of the year. According to research at the time, Hocus Pocus 2 was the most in-demand “horror” movie in the U.S., and was also the most-streamed movie in the entire country from September 30 to October 2, which essentially served as its “opening weekend.”
Disney also revealed that the movie was its most-viewed film premiere in the U.S. within its first three days, and had become, at the time, its most-watched movie on Disney+ at all. The movie also scored the largest opening weekend for a film in Nielsen’s streaming rankings, totaling a whopping 2.7 billion minutes watched following its premiere.
All of this information might point to good reasons as to why Disney should keep a third film on the streaming platform, but it’s actually the opposite. The film was a massive success and clearly had demand from fans, and while high streaming numbers are looked at favorably by companies like Disney, huge theatrical returns are viewed even more so. Using movies that break out on Disney+ as new projects to get people into the theater is a great way to not only drive more interest in the movie, but also help bolster your own box office numbers for the end of the year, while also being able to still have the movie do well on streaming when it eventually makes its way to Disney+.
