Hocus Pocus 2 Premieres to Huge Streaming Ratings

Shortly after Hocus Pocus 2 debuted on Disney+, the House of Mouse confirmed that the movie delivered the most-watched opening of any film on the service to-date. We knew Hocus Pocus 2 was a hit. What we didn’t know, however, is just how big of a hit the new sequel actually was. Hocus Pocus 2 was one of the most-watched titles on all of streaming the weekend it was released, topping every other film or show with the exception of Netflix’s Jeffrey Dahmer series.

According to the latest numbers from Nielson, Hocus Pocus 2 was viewed for a whopping 2.725 billion minutes during the week of September 26th through October 2nd. In case you forgot, Hocus Pocus 2 was released on September 30th, so it was only eligible for three days out of the week that was counted. That means the film was viewed for nearly one billion minutes each day in its opening weekend.

Next Thursday will see Nielson reveal the streaming numbers from the following week, and it’s likely Hocus Pocus 2 will have an even bigger total, with seven full days to be counted.

Who Returned for Hocus Pocus 2?

Not every actor from 1993’s Hocus Pocus came back for the sequel, but the three Sanderson Sisters definitely did. Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy all reprised their roles for Hocus Pocus 2. Doug Jones also returned to the franchise to play the undead Billy Butcherson.

“When that call came, I was excited to get to do all of that again. I got to reunite with Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy, which was so dreamy,” Jones told Collider in a recent interview. “The difference between 30 years, working with them, is that I was starstruck the first time. I was such a huge fan of Bette Midler and Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy, who had done The Kathy & Mo Show and Sister Act, at that time. They were all huge, in my world. I was just like, ‘I can’t believe I’m on the same set with these people. Oh, my gosh!’ Coming back, you never lose your starstruck-ness, really, or I don’t. I was still like, ‘Oh, my gosh, there they are again.’ But now, with the 30 years that have passed, my career has gone places, and thankfully, I’ve been very blessed with what’s happened in my life, that they were treating me, and we were interacting more as peers. That was a big difference that I noticed, and was very happy about. We’re all 30 years older, and have matured and come through a lot of life in that time, so there was a lot to chat about on set. It was really quite lovely.”

What did you think of Hocus Pocus 2? Let us know in the comments!