Three Wicked Sisters Are Haunting the Disney+ Top 10 as Halloween Creeps Closer
Every October, streaming habits start to shift toward capes, cauldrons and candy corn. Disney+ subscribers can start their Halloween viewing well before October 31, and plenty of them clearly do. The Disney+ Top 10 is a good place to watch that seasonal mood take shape.
Disney has leaned into the spooky season with a full lineup. One roundup of 13 Halloween picks stretches from a 1949 animated classic to the 2023 ‘Haunted Mansion’ film, so families can pick a scare level that suits everyone on the couch. It reads like a menu for the month, and some dishes are clearly more popular than others.
The latest Disney+ Top 10 movies chart shows one of those dishes climbing fast. ‘Hocus Pocus’ now sits at number two, up eight spots and sitting on the chart for 43 days. Only ‘Toy Story 5’ ranks higher, which puts the Sanderson sisters ahead of several other ‘Toy Story’ entries and a pile of other Halloween offerings.
That jump will not shock anyone who follows streaming trends. The film is described as returning to the top of the streaming chart every year, as audiences come back to relive their nostalgia. The original arrived in theaters on July 16, 1993, and Disney+ later added a sequel in 2022.
The story itself has become shorthand for the season. Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy play three witches who return from the dead centuries after their time in Salem and cause trouble through one memorable Halloween night. It is silly, spooky and easy to rewatch, which is exactly what a Halloween comfort movie needs to be.
The wider Disney world is feeding that momentum. The ‘Hocus Pocus’ Villain Spelltacular is returning to Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party at Magic Kingdom, with the three sisters taking over the stage. Shoppers can also pick up a Winifred Sanderson costume for $49.99 through October 31.
Viewers have more than one way to watch, too. The film airs on ABC on Sunday, October 18 from 9:00 to 11:00 p.m. ET, and it can be streamed anytime on Disney+. Both installments are currently available on Disney+ for anyone who wants a double feature. With the witches this high on the chart and Halloween still weeks away, do you rewatch the original every year or is the sequel the one that actually gets you in the Sanderson spirit?
