While Hocus Pocus remains a beloved Halloween staple today, the Disney movie was an infamous box office bomb back in 1993. Hocus Pocus is a headliner for Disney’s Halloween movie slate every year, but it didn’t always have the nostalgia-filled popularity that it enjoys 30 years later. When Hocus Pocus premiered in 1993, it only made $40 million against an estimated $28 million budget (via Box Office Mojo). Considering the typical rule of thumb for a movie to break even is to double its initial budget, Hocus Pocus initially lost several million dollars for Disney.
Hocus Pocus wouldn’t truly begin to enjoy the cult classic status it holds today until the mid-2000s, which is largely due to its success on VHS and DVD rentals as well as TV broadcasts. Hocus Pocus would be played several times each year on Disney Channel and Freeform’s Halloween lineups, gaining popularity among new generations while growing in nostalgia for those who were young when the movie was originally released. The slow burn of the film’s success led to the premiere of Hocus Pocus 2 in 2022, and the franchise is still growing with Hocus Pocus 3 on the way. While its success today makes its 1993 box office failure more surprising, Hocus Pocus’ initial bomb has several explanations.
7 Disney Released Hocus Pocus In July Instead Of The Fall
Perhaps the greatest error that contributed to Hocus Pocus’ box office failure was its release date. Disney decided to release the Halloween-set horror-comedy movie in July 1993, which isn’t the time when kids, teens, and families are more apt to run to the theater for a spooky family-friendly story. This same mistake was made by Disney in 2023, leading to the Haunted Mansion remake’s massive box office bomb. Considering how poorly Disney’s Halloween-themed movie performed at the box office back in July 1993, it’s odd that the studio would repeat this release strategy 30 years later.
While the mindset was likely that kids and families would be out of school and more apt to see the film, the witch-centered Hocus Pocus was also not the only major family-friendly movie in theaters that summer. Additionally, October 1993’s biggest family-friendly Halloween movie was The Nightmare Before Christmas, so Disney may have wanted to avoid competition between these two films at the box office. Still, Hocus Pocus could have hit theaters in early September and likely have performed better than it did with a July release date.
6 Hocus Pocus Had Massive Box Office Competition
While being released so close to The Nightmare Before Christmas may have also caused some problems, Hocus Pocus’ competition at the box office in summer 2023 was arguably much more detrimental to its success. Hocus Pocus was released alongside Free Willy on July 16, 1993, with the latter going on to gross over $77 million during its original run. More important, however, is that Hocus Pocus was competing with Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park, which made well over $900 million worldwide during its original release. Though Jurassic Park had debuted a month prior on June 11, the movie was still going strong when Hocus Pocus premiered, having earned more than both Free Willy and Hocus Pocus during their opening weekends.
5 Hocus Pocus Was Panned By Critics When It Premiered
Another explanation for Hocus Pocus originally failing in theaters was its poor reviews. The film was generally received negatively by critics, with Roger Ebert giving it a one-star review summarized with, “Hocus Pocus is a film desperately in need of self-discipline.” Meanwhile, the more moderately successful family-friendly Halloween movie in 1993, The Nightmare Before Christmas, also boasted great reviews and a big name with Tim Burton being the executive producer.
Hocus Pocus being critically panned upon release actually isn’t surprising, as the movie still holds a 40% score on Rotten Tomatoes despite its cult legacy. However, Hocus Pocus has fared better with audiences in this respect, as the movie’s audience score on the review aggregator site is a warmer 71% positive. Still, with critics warning prospective audience members that it may not be worth it to go see Hocus Pocus in theaters, the box office numbers weren’t helped by reviews in 1993.
4 Hocus Pocus Didn’t Have Major Stars For A Kids Movie
The 1993 movie being a box office bomb can also be partially explained by Hocus Pocus’ cast, which didn’t have any major stars to pull in families. Bette Midler was the biggest name attached to Hocus Pocus, and while she remains a shining star as the lead Sanderson sister, it may not have been enough to bring in kids and teens to watch the movie. Additionally, Sarah Jessica Parker arguably wouldn’t become a household name until Sex and the City five years later. Meanwhile, the starring teens and kids were played by up-and-coming actors such as Omri Katz, Thora Birch, and Vinessa Shaw, who had yet to star in any major blockbusters or massively popular TV shows at the time Hocus Pocus was released.
3 Disney Didn’t Market Hocus Pocus Well
Another reason why Hocus Pocus failed in theaters is the lack of successful marketing by Disney. Whereas The Nightmare Before Christmas’ marketing campaign largely relied on Tim Burton’s name and its dual holiday appeal, Disney didn’t seem to know how to properly promote Hocus Pocus to audiences. According to TheWrap, Hocus Pocus’ cast can’t recall a marketing campaign used by Disney to promote their movie – there wasn’t even a premiere for the cast and crew to attend and celebrate. Disney hadn’t built up Hocus Pocus as an exciting family horror movie for all to see, with the trailer seemingly being the biggest piece of marketing for the $28 million film.
The highly-quotable Sanderson Sisters (Bette Midler, Kathy Najimy, and Sarah Jessica Parker) were positioned as the face of the movie before its launch, but very little promotional activity was dedicated to its teen and child actors. The Sanderson Sisters actresses promoted Hocus Pocus on the Today Show before the premiere, but Disney didn’t put much effort into getting the names of the rest of the cast out there. Considering the lack of studio marketing, Hocus Pocus’ $40 million earnings at the 1993 box office can largely be attributed to word of mouth.
2 Hocus Pocus Was Better Suited For At-Home Viewing
Given the movie’s marketing blunders, baffling release date strategy, and confusion regarding its tone and audience target, Hocus Pocus would have been better suited for a direct-to-video release back in 1993. Without the stain of being a box office bomb, Hocus Pocus’ popularity may have grown much sooner upon release, similar to the nostalgic Disney Channel Halloween movies, such as the 1998 classic Halloweentown. While these films still deserve a chance at a big theatrical opening, Hocus Pocus proved to be more beloved with repeated viewing over time, making it a more nostalgia-packed watch.
By releasing directly on Disney Channel, Hocus Pocus would have likely avoided confusion about the movie’s intended audience. The PG film may have fared better initially with families stumbling upon it on a TV broadcast premiere or as a rental at Blockbuster, which later proved to be the exact key to its delayed popularity. Considering Hocus Pocus is finally being re-released in theaters by Disney for its 30th anniversary in October 2023, many long-time and new fans of the Halloween classic will be watching it outside their home viewing atmosphere for the first time.
1 Hocus Pocus Was Too Mature For Kids But Too Silly For Adults In Theaters
Tying into the movie’s lackluster marketing, one problem with Hocus Pocus’ theatrical release was that it wasn’t entirely clear who the movie was being made for. While the film tried appealing to 10-year-old kids, 16-year-old teens, and adults who were fans of the Sanderson Sisters actors, the tonal balance was muddled in the promotion. With numerous references to “virgins” and plenty of sexual innuendo sprinkled throughout, Hocus Pocus came off as being too mature for kids, which likely turned parents away from paying for tickets in theaters. Additionally, the kid-friendly story and action were a bit too silly to properly appeal to adult audiences, leaving Hocus Pocus with an unsure target audience pool and a disappointing box office.
Sources: Box Office Mojo, RoberEbert.com, Rotten Tomatoes, TheWrap
