See The Return Of Everyone’s Favorite Witches In Hocus Pocus 2 Trailer
They're back and ready to eat your kids!
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The first film may have lost Disney millions of dollars, but in the interim airings on the Disney Channel and Freeform have helped to make 1993’s Hocus Pocus a classic. With Disney+ becoming one of the major players in the streaming wars, the fantasy comedy horror franchise no longer has to worry quite so much about where moviegoers spend their money, offering the perfect home to Hocus Pocus 2. After almost three decades of waiting, the Hocus Pocus 2 trailer is here.
The video opens on three girls in modern day Salem who make the mistake of going into the forest and casting the wrong spell. Somehow, the spell summons the villainous Sanderson sisters back to life in spite of their fate at the end of the first film. You can watch the Hocus Pocus 2 trailer below.
As the trailer unveils the resurrections of the Sanderson sisters, Winnifred (Bette Midler) cries out, “Lock up your children!”, signaling that the witches don’t plan to be any more forgiving in their methods than they were in the first movie. The trailer ends with a man recognizing the sisters at what appears to be a festival of some kind. “I bet you’re looking for the stage,” he says. Winnifred responds with an imperious “Always” — a response that could certainly be applied to the actress playing her as well. Finally, the Hocus Pocus 2 trailer reveals the date of its streaming premiere: Friday, September 30.
With a budget of $28 million, Hocus Pocus grossed only $45.4 million worldwide, and even failed to crack the $1 million mark on its opening weekend. Judging by its Rotten Tomatoes critics score of 39%, reviewers weren’t any kinder to the film than audiences were — at least not at the time. As recounted by Slash Film, it was after its theatrical run that Hocus Pocus found its audience. Once it was released on DVD in 2002, for example, it would regularly dominate physical media sales charts around Halloween. Thankfully, Disney’s been able to look past the ticket sales to realize there was more potential for the franchise; hence the Hocus Pocus 2 trailer that dropped today.
Along with Middler as Winifred, the eldest of the Sanderson sisters, the film stars Sarah Jessica Parker (And Just Like That…) as the youngest sister Sarah, and Kathy Najimy (Sister Act) as the middle sibling Mary. Among those expected to return from the original film is Doug Jones (Star Trek: Discovery) as Winifred’s zombie ex-boyfriend Billy Butcherson. The three girls who bring the Sandersons back from the dead are Whitney Peak (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina), Lilia Buckingham (Dirt), and Belissa Escobedo (American Horror Stories). Hannah Waddingham (Ted Lasso) will play a new character known only as “The Witch” so far, Tony Hale (Arrested Development) plays Salem Mayor Traske, and Sam Richardson (Veep) will be the owner of the Olde Salem Magic Shoppe. While you don’t see them in the Hocus Pocus 2 trailer, the film will include guest appearances from Ginger Minj, Kornbread Jeté, and Kahmora Hall of Ru Paul’s Drag Race fame, who will reportedly play drag Sanderson sisters imitators.
