The Sanderson Sisters continue to cast a spell on audiences.
Disney+ revealed Tuesday thatHocus Pocus 2— which comes nearly 30 years after the 1993 original — became the streaming service’s No. 1 movie debut domestically to date. This is based on hours streamed in the first three days of its release (it premiered Friday).
Last week, Midler told PEOPLE that the cast and crewknew the story had more to givebeyond the beloved first film.
“We all wanted to do it,” she said, noting that Parker was one of the people who really pushed to make it happen. “What we couldn’t understand was after the thing snowballed, we couldn’t understand, as we spoke together, we would often speak together, and [think] why don’t they ever give us a sequel?”
“It wasn’t like a crazy, aggressive push,” she continues. “It was just that we felt that it had a life outside of what it had had. And eventually 30 years later, they came to their senses!”
Kathy Najimy, Bette Midler and Sarah Jessica Parker inHocus Pocus 2(2022).Matt Kennedy/Courtesy of Disney Enterprises, Inc.
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Parker recentlytoldExtrashe would sign onfor a thirdHocus Pocusif Midler also joined the project.
“Bette is already starting rumors,” she said of a potential sequel. “I hitch my wagon to her star. If she wants to do a third one… No one says no to the Divine Miss M.”
Parker added that she didn’t think there would ever be a sequel — but Midler always thought it was possible: “Bette was the person who had this fervent wish that this would happen and could not be deterred from the idea. You should ask her, ‘cause she will say, ‘Absolutely, I always imagined. I’ve been telling them for years.’ "
In July,Hocus Pocus 2executive producer Adam Shankmantold PEOPLEthat Midler, Najimy and Parker “just fell right in” with each other on set of the sequel: “[It was] like a snap back in time, as if time had not [passed]. They were just laughing, laughing, laughing. … It was easy.”
Shankman noted that the originalHocus Pocus"was not a hit when it came out,” but eventually became “the juggernaut Halloween movie” due to it airing and streaming on various platforms each fall.
BothHocus Pocusmovies are now streaming on Disney+.
source: people.com
