Hocus Pocus: Disney classic almost tops US box office 27 years after original release

Halloween classic was only beaten by ‘Tenet’, which had a surprisingly low weekend

Bette Midler in 1993's 'Hocus Pocus' (Disney)

Hocus Pocus has seen a shock surge in the US box office 27 years after it was originally released.

The Disney movie, which is regarded as a Halloween classic, was re-released in US cinemas this weekend with the hope of drawing audiences back to theatres amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Playing in 2,570 cinemas across the country, the film took in $650,000 (£500,000) on Friday (2 October) alone, amounting to $2m (£1.54m) over the whole weekend.

It only came in second place to Tenet, which took in a surprisingly low $2.7m (£2m) across the weekend.

Released in 1993, Hocus Pocus stars Bette Midler, Kathy Najimy and Sarah Jessica Parker as a trio of witches.

A sequel is currently in development at streaming service Disney+, with Midler revealing last week that she was in talks to reprise her role for the follow-up project.

Last year, Parker posted a photo of the three actors on Instagram in character as their witchy alter-egos.

Asked by a fan whether there was any chance of a sequel, Parker responded: “We have said yes. Now we wait.”