Time to dust off the black flame candle – Hocus Pocus turns 30!
The classic family Halloween film celebrated three decades this summer. In honour of this milestone, the Sanderson sisters are returning to theatres for a limited time from 6 October.
Starring Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy as Winfred, Sarah and Mary Sanderson, the 1993 film follows Salem, Massachusetts teenager Max (Omri Katz), his little sister Dani (Thora Birch) and school crush Allison (Vinessa Shaw) as Max unwittingly resurrects the three witches 300 years to the day after they were hanged on Halloween night in 1693.
For those who prefer to watch from the comfort of their own home, Hocus Pocus is also streaming on Disney+ – as is its 2022 sequel, Hocus Pocus 2, and the 2018 feature-length special, Hocus Pocus 25th Anniversary Halloween Bash.
Hocus Pocus 2 picks up 29 years after Max lit the Black Flame Candle in the first film. In the sequel, Winifred, Sarah and Mary now seek revenge as they awaken in present-day Salem. Three teenagers – Becca (Whitney Peak), Cassie (Lilia Buckingham) and Izzy (Belissa Escobedo) – must find a way to stop the witches from getting their revenge.
Midler, 77, Parker, 58, and Najimy, 66, have all returned for Hocus Pocus 2, as has Doug Jones, who played Billy Butcherson in the original film.
Speaking to PEOPLE in July 2022, executive producer Adam Shankman revealed that the three actresses “just clicked” on the set of the highly anticipated sequel.
“It was like going back in time, like no time had passed,” Shankman, 58, said of the three actresses. “They were just laughing, laughing, laughing. … It was easy.”
He also noted that the original Hocus Pocus was “not a hit when it came out”, but eventually became “the juggernaut that is Halloween” because it “ran endlessly on cable” and streaming platforms.
After Hocus Pocus 2 became the biggest movie debut ever for Disney+ in the US upon its release, a third film in the series was announced last summer as being in development.
No further information has been given about the potential third film, including a release date or casting. But Midler, Parker and Najimy have all said they’d be open to doing another film.
And while Katz, 47, Shaw, 47, and Birch, 41, did not return for the second film, they have all expressed a desire to reprise their characters in some capacity.
“I think the fan base really wanted to see something with us,” Katz said during a panel at ’90s Con in March. “It’s hard to really understand the decisions that are being made about what [the studio and filmmakers] want to do.”
Tickets for the 30th anniversary screenings of Hocus Pocus are available wherever you buy cinema tickets.
