Hocus Pocus may have been a box office bomb when it first premiered in theaters in the summer of 1993 when Jurassic Park was ruling big screens, but it has since become a staple of family-friendly Halloween season viewing. When Disney+ decided to bring back the Sanderson sisters back in 2022 with Hocus Pocus 2, it became so popular on streaming that we were left wondering why it didn’t go to theaters. Oh, and it was announced that a third movie is on the way. As we soon say goodbye to Halloween season, here's the latest on what’s going on with it.
Bette Midler was asked about the status of Hocus Pocus 3 when she appeared on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen earlier this month. Here’s her update:
They sent a script, and a lot of it was brilliant. So I got very excited and, now, we’re sort of like, trying to figure out what it is, where it’s going to be and how much it’s going to cost.
That’s a big step! A lot of what stalls productions has to do with a script not being written or not getting to the right place in time. But per Midler’s words, things are in a good place with current Hocus Pocus 3 script. So right now, the conversations being had has to do with “logistics” such as creating the budget and perhaps fine-tuning some elements of the script’s storyline.
Hocus Pocus 3 was first announced back in June 2025 when former president of Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture Production, Sean Bailey, confirmed the sequel was in development. Not long after that, it was reported that Hocus Pocus 2’s director Anne Fletcher and script writer Jen D’Angelo were going to resume their roles in the next installment. Per Midler’s words, it sounds like D’Angelo got the job done, after she previously teased about how the Sanderson sisters could return.
It’s great to hear about the forward movement of Hocus Pocus 3 after prior updates were a lot less concrete. The last time Bette Midler talked about the movie last year, she said the studio was “very gingerly and very gently” talking about the sequel. This past July, Sarah Jessica Parker expressed interest in doing the movie, and said “conversations” had been happening.
It certainly feels like a no-brainer for Disney+ to produce the movie after the movie had the biggest streaming movie debut ever, with 2.7 billion minutes viewed during its debut weekend on the service. Here’s hoping it’s not long before we’re seeing the trio back on set together celebrating the first day of filming. How exciting is it to know a new witches brew from the franchise is being cooked up?
