Three outlandishly wild witches return from 17th-century Salem after they’re accidentally conjured up by some unsuspecting pranksters. The tricky 300-year-old trio sets out to cast a spell on the town and reclaim their youth. A film by Kenny Ortega, starring Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kathy Najimy, Omri Katz, Thora Birch, Vinessa Shaw, and Sean Murray.

On 31 October 1693, in Salem, Massachusetts, Thackery Binx (Sean Murray) trails his younger sister Emily (Amanda Shepherd), into the woods, where he stumble upon the cottage of the Sanderson sisters. The witches, Winifred (Bette Midler), Mary (Kathy Najimy), and Sarah (Sarah Jessica Parker), seek to consume the life force of children to reclaim their youth and magical power.

Thackery attempts to save his sister, but Winifred’s lightning strike incapacitates him. When he regains consciousness, the witches have already drained Emily’s life force. To punish his interference, they transform him into a black cat and curse him to live forever with the guilt of failing to save Emily.

The townspeople follow the trail to rescue Thackery and Emily, but they only find Emily’s body. The Sanderson sisters are arrested and sentenced to death by hanging for her murder. As the townspeople interrogate them about Thackery, Winifred casts a spell that will resurrect them on All Hallows’ Eve if a virgin lights the Black Flame Candle in their cottage.

On October 31, 1993, three hundred years after the Sanderson sisters were hanged, Max Dennison (Omri Katz) moves from Los Angeles to Salem with his family. At school, he learns about the legend of the witches for the first time. He skeptically dismisses his teacher’s tale, asserting that Halloween was invented by a confectionery company to sell more candy to children.

That night, Max’s parents insist that he take his younger sister Dani (Thora Birch), trick-or-treating, a traditional Halloween custom in which children dress up as ghosts and knock on doors to ask for candy and sweets. On their route, they serendipitously encounter the home of Allison Watts (Vinessa Shaw), Max’s classmate whom he has a crush on.

Upon learning that Allison’s family owns the legendary Sanderson sisters’ cottage, which they have transformed into a museum but have since closed due to mysterious and unexplained occurrences, Max suggests a tour for himself and his sister. Allison, bored of the party at her house, agrees. While inside the cottage, Max lights the Black Flame Candle in an attempt to impress Allison, inadvertently resurrecting the Sanderson sisters after three centuries of death.

Max, Allison, and Dani flee the cottage while the Sanderson sisters are stupefied by the modern technology. Max snatches the spell book, as instructed by Thackery Binx, the immortal talking cat. Realizing Max lacks magic power, the sisters chase the children to retrieve the spell book, for the resurrection spell only works on Halloween night. If they fail to consume children’s life force before sunrise, they will disintegrate.

Hocus Pocus is a fantasy film that showcases vibrant and iconic performances from the three lead actresses, Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy. Viewers familiar with their previous work will likely delight in watching this film as well. The film’s originality and quirky uniqueness, particularly in its story, characters, and music selection, make it a cult classic, one that people enjoy revisiting nearly every year.

Hocus Pocus premiered in US theaters on 16 June 1993, surprisingly out of sync with the Halloween season. Despite grossing only $39.5 million against its $28 million budget, the film found a second life on Disney Channel, where its annual October airings boosted popularity and earned it a cult following. With VHS sales rising each year, Hocus Pocus has solidified its status as a Halloween classic.

Released on VHS in the United States on 5 January 1994, and DVD on 4 June 2002, Hocus Pocus saw its DVD sales rise each year, especially in October, when sales surpassed one million copies.

Hocus Pocus drew over 2.8 million television viewers on 29 October 2011. The film was first released on Blu-ray on 4 September 2012, followed by a special edition Blu-ray with deleted scenes and behind-the-scenes footage on 2 September 2018, to celebrate its 25th anniversary. Disney released the film on Ultra HD, 4K HDR Blu-ray on 15 September 2020.

Hocus Pocus may have flopped with critics and at the box office, but it has since gained more popularity, receiving an average rating of 4.8 stars from over 85,000 Amazon reviewers.

After initially being hired to compose the music for Hocus Pocus, American composer James Horner, known for his notable works on Titanic and Avatar, departed the project. John Debney was subsequently hired to compose the soundtrack, with only two weeks to complete it.

Despite departing the project, James Horner returned to compose the theme song “Sarah’s Theme,” which has become one of the film’s most memorable songs, often mistakenly referred to as “Come Little Children.”

Released in 1993 for promotional purposes only, the Hocus Pocus soundtrack omitted the song “Sarah’s Theme” and was never commercially released, making the promotional CD a rare and highly sought-after collector’s item, often fetching up to $200. In 2013, Intrada Records released a complete 32-track Hocus Pocus original score that included “Sarah’s Theme,” but Bette Midler’s rendition of “I Put a Spell on You” and Sarah Jessica Parker’s renditon of “Sarah’s Theme,” remain absent.