Hocus Pocus 3 is in development at Disney according to studio executive Sean Bailey... though it's unclear if Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy will return
Months after Hocus Pocus 2 debuted on the Disney Plus streaming service, Sean Bailey, President of Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture Production, confirmed Hocus Pocus 3 is happening.
Bailey revealed in a new interview with The New York Times that a third installment of the Halloween franchise is happening.
'Yes, Hocus Pocus 3 is happening,' Bailey confirmed in the interview, though no other specifics were revealed.
The news isn't terribly surprising, given how successful Hocus Pocus 2 was, setting a new record with 2.7 billion viewing minutes in its first week on Disney Plus.
There is no confirmation yet that Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy will return as the Sanderson Sisters quite yet, though it seems likely.
Sequel: Months after Hocus Pocus 2 debuted on the Disney Plus streaming service, Sean Bailey, President of Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture Production, confirmed Hocus Pocus 3 is happening
Sequel: 'Yes, Hocus Pocus 3 is happening,' Bailey confirmed in the interview, though no other specifics were revealed
The original Hocus Pocus was released in 1993, following the three witches known as the Sanderson Sisters - Winifred (Midler), Sarah (Parker) and Mary (Najimy), who are inadvertently resurrected on Halloween - 300 years after they were executed in Salem.
The film also starred Omri Katz and Thora Birch as the kids who resurrected the witches, along with Vinessa Shaw and Doug Jones.
The film earned $45 million at the box office and became a cult classic after its release on home video.
Freeform would air the film annually on Halloween, with 8.2 million viewers tuning in on the 25th anniversary release in 2018, with an anniversary special filmed at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.
While the stars had spoken often about their interest in returning for a sequel, it finally went into development in 2019.
Anne Fletcher signed on to direct from a script by original Hocus Pocus writer David Kirschner along with Jen D'Angelo and Blake Harris.
The cast was rounded out with Sam Richardson, Tony Hale, Doug Jones, Whitney Peak, Belissa Escobedo, Lilia Buckingham and Froy Gutierrez.
The viewership was spread out through many diverse demographics, with 2-to-11-year-olds, 18-to-34-year-olds and 35-to-49-year-olds each accounting for 25%.
Original: The original Hocus Pocus was released in 1993, following the three witches known as the Sanderson Sisters - Winifred (Midler), Sarah (Parker) and Mary (Najimy), who are inadvertently resurrected on Halloween - 300 years after they were executed in Salem
Cast: The film also starred Omri Katz and Thora Birch(middle) as the kids who resurrected the witches, along with Vinessa Shaw and Doug Jones.
Development: While the stars had spoken often about their interest in returning for a sequel, it finally went into development in 2019
Hispanic audiences also accounted for approximately 21% of the viewership, while the sequel also brought the 1993 original movie Hocus Pocus back into the top 10.
The original movie amassed 774 million viewing minutes, which was good for seventh place on the charts for September 27-October 2.
It's also worth noting that Nielsen's streaming rankings only account for viewing on a TV screen, which means mobile viewing is not counted.
