Hocus Pocus 2 may not have received the highest praise from critics, but the Disney legacy sequel has set a new record for the number of minutes watched, according to figures released by Nielsen. Their weekly streaming chart for the week ending October 2 shows that 2.7 billion minutes of viewing time were attributed to the spooky sequel, which is the highest amount ever recorded for a movie in one week.
While the weekly chart was dominated by Netflix series Dahmer, which claimed the top spot with 4.4 billion minutes watched in the same week, Hocus Pocus 2 delivered some impressive numbers considering its relatively short runtime and the fact it didn’t debut until September 30, meaning that its numbers were only made up from its opening weekend viewings. The film took the record from another Disney movie, Encanto, which pulled in 2.2 million minutes of viewing time back in December 2021.
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Hocus Pocus 2 delivered a much-belated sequel to the popular 1993 movie, bringing back lead stars Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy as the Sanderson Sisters, along with Doug Jones, who reprises his role as Billy Butcherson. Outside those returns, the cast of the sequel is made up of new young stars replacing the likes of Thora Birch, who were not able to appear in the new movie. Although the sequel has proved to be a popular addition to Disney+ ahead of Halloween, it has not won over all of the critics and audiences.
How Good is Hocus Pocus 2?
Buena Vista Pictures
While there has been a big wave of nostalgic hits arriving in cinemas recently, with belated sequels to Ghostbusters, Top Gun, and more classic 80s and 90s movies proving to be big draws at the box office, Hocus Pocus 2 is another nostalgic offering that hopes to be a double threat of bringing some good memories back to fans of the original movie and draw in newcomers to the franchise. However, it seems that it could have been a nostalgic step too far for many audiences.
There is no denying that Hocus Pocus 2 has delivered impressive viewer figures for Disney+, but the popularity of the sequel will probably not last as long as the original. Although the movie was still rated Fresh by critics on Rotten Tomatoes, much more impressive in fact than the 38% the original movie received, audiences have not been as kind, rating it a lowly 51%.
While the movie does have its fans and is certainly not a disaster, the overarching feeling is that Hocus Pocus 2 follows that trend of making any movie aimed at kids a nicely wrapped-up bundle that holds back on being scary and loses some of what made the original a go-to Halloween watch. Many reviews called out the bland new characters, the overly cute and silly humor, and the general lack of originality in the movie, which again is not unusual in sequels coming decades after the original movie’s release. That said, Hocus Pocus 2 was put out on Disney+ rather than in cinemas for a reason, and there is no doubt that it will gain a few more viewings over the Halloween weekend.
