Hocus Pocus 2
Disney+ | Release Date (Streaming): September 30, 2022 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
56
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 32 Critic Reviews
Positive:
17
Mixed:
13
Negative:
2
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
88
RogerEbert.comNell MinowSep 29, 2022
The challenge for the sequel to a beloved film is maintaining enough of the original to make the fans happy without being too repetitive or confusing newcomers, and Hocus Pocus 2 gets that just right. Read full review
83
ColliderMaggie LovittSep 29, 2022
It summons the magic of nostalgia with laughs, heart, and music, and perfectly satisfies the heart of audiences trying to rekindle the past. Read full review
75
ObserverEmily ZemlerSep 29, 2022
A solidly fun follow-up that understands its audience. Set in 2022, Hocus Pocus 2 not only leaps across several decades, but also reimagines itself in a more contemporary way by diversifying its cast and embracing technology. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleG. Allen JohnsonSep 29, 2022
Ultimately, Hocus Pocus 2 operates as a cheerful throwback to the 1980s/early ’90s genre of plucky kids saving small-town America from existential danger, a vibe tapped into by not just the original “Hocus Pocus” but such classics as “Gremlins,” “Back to the Future” and “The Goonies.” Read full review
73
The AtlanticShirley LiOct 25, 2022
Like the trio of eccentric spell-casting divas at its center, this follow-up is bizarre, flashy, and chaotic. And yet, it’s also satisfying to take in. Read full review
72
CNETRichard TrenholmSep 29, 2022
The reunited Midler, Najimy and Parker running amok (amok, amok, amok) bring enough of that ol' black magic to carry this whimsical caper and keep it from feeling like too much of a cash-in. Read full review
70
Vanity FairYohana DestaSep 30, 2022
Hocus Pocus 2 is sweeter, gentler, and pointedly more inclusive than its hilariously crass predecessor, trading in winking jokes about hell and sex for lite feminist jokes about the modern beauty industry. Read full review
70
ABC NewsPeter TraversSep 30, 2022
Anything for Halloween? You bet. Lock up the children—the Sanderson Sisters are back in a bewitching sequel that returns Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy to the roles they created in 1993 just in time to put a funny-scary spell on you. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterLovia GyarkyeSep 29, 2022
Recycled plot points, jaunts down memory lane and knowing winks at the broader fandom are rolled into the type of sleek CGI package that’s typical of Disney offerings these days. The result is a thin but satisfactory piece of entertainment. Read full review
70
The New York TimesClaire ShafferSep 29, 2022
While its new sequel, Hocus Pocus 2, may be a blatant attempt by Disney to continue propping up its streaming platform Disney+ (where the movie has its debut), it manages to capture the same hokey magic of the original while creatively updating its humor. Read full review
70
IGNAmelia EmberwingSep 29, 2022
Rough greenscreen work can’t keep the Sanderson Sisters down in a fun enough follow-up to a Halloween classic. Read full review
68
Paste MagazineAmy AmatangeloSep 29, 2022
The good news is if you liked Hocus Pocus, you will definitely like Hocus Pocus 2...because it’s basically the exact same movie except with cell phones, better special effects and a cameo from Hannah Waddingham. Imitation remains the sincerest form of flattery. The bad news is…it’s the exact same movie. Read full review
67
IndieWireJude DrySep 29, 2022
The fun continues with a totally satisfactory sequel that brings the Sanderson sisters back to life one more time. OK, so the plot is basically the same and the jokes mere updates to the original. Why mess with a good thing when you can simply recreate it? Read full review
65
CNNBrian LowrySep 29, 2022
What makes this Hocus Pocus gel is the nifty mix of old and new, replicating the basic template from the original while introducing a new and more diverse contingent of teens to do battle with the centuries-old witches. Read full review
63
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsSep 29, 2022
There are some laughs, and director Anne Fletcher — like Kenny Ortega, who did the first one, she’s dance-trained and a veteran choreographer — manages a far smoother amalgam of effects, mood swings, mugging, headless-zombie comic relief and heartstring-yanking that miraculously almost kind of partly works. All in all, it’s twice as good as Hocus Pocus. It’s easier to write that if you didn’t like Hocus Pocus. Read full review
63
The Associated PressLindsey BahrSep 29, 2022
Directed by Anne Fletcher, Hocus Pocus 2 goes down easy — though by the time the entire town breaks out into a dance to “One Way or Another,” you may be ready for the film to get where it’s going. Still, it’s a fun enough ride for a fall night. Read full review
63
Movie NationRoger MooreSep 29, 2022
I’d say Parker, Najimy and Midler all did a great public service coming back to these characters and deserve the thanks of a grateful nation for giving this their all, giving us a few laughs and a lot of grins and giving legions of little girls Disney role models who aren’t princesses waiting around for some prince to get a clue. Read full review
60
Los Angeles TimesJustin ChangSep 30, 2022
The movie is a thin but painless retread, cloaking its derivative storytelling in a familiar cloak of fan gratification. Read full review
60
VarietyPeter DebrugeSep 29, 2022
Hocus Pocus 2 is actually the better made film, even if it amounts to little more than a stealth remake, with strategic decisions about the present-day and old-Salem witch trios being engineered to allow for more sequels, whether or not its star trio return. Read full review
60
Arizona RepublicKiMi RobinsonSep 29, 2022
Some new elements do work . . . But Hocus Pocus 2’s best parts are familiar and beloved to fans of the original movie. Read full review
58
The A.V. ClubPhil PirrelloSep 29, 2022
Hocus Pocus 2 (minus one shoulder shrug of a musical number) uses the franchise’s witchcraft and world-building to earnestly explore timely themes of identity and inclusivity, for a follow-up that fans may begrudgingly concede is better than the original. Read full review
50
SlashfilmHoai-Tran BuiSep 29, 2022
When there is no actual conflict, the film's already low stakes start to feel meaningless, and the characters' bumbling hijinks around town start to feel tiresome. Conflict is necessary to inject urgency into a film, and as a result, Hocus Pocus 2 starts to really flag halfway through, once the shine of nostalgia starts to fade and Midler, Parker, and Najimy start to run out of musical numbers to perform. Read full review
50
Screen RantFerdosa AbdiSep 29, 2022
The story is simply a rehash of the first film, and even the jokes begin to fall flat well before the halfway point. Hocus Pocus 2 is enjoyable, but it doesn't quite live up to the lightning-in-a-bottle moment that was the 1993 film. Read full review
42
The PlaylistMarshall ShafferSep 29, 2022
Hocus Pocus fans wanted a new movie, but Disney just gave them a mascot appearance masquerading as a sequel instead. Read full review
40
We Got This CoveredApeksha BagchiOct 3, 2022
The Sanderson sisters are devoted to their act but their campy return to Salem is far from bewitching as it tries to find its way amidst a listless plot and the repeated detours down nostalgia lane. Read full review
40
EmpireHelen O'HaraSep 30, 2022
This is just as unevenly plotted as the original, lacks even the element of surprise, and is not by any reasonable standard “good”. Between gooey and ghoulish, there must be better options. Read full review
40
The Irish TimesTara BradySep 30, 2022
All of these parties try hard with a script that, while credited to Jen D’Angelo, doesn’t appear to have been entirely written as yet. Read full review
40
The GuardianPeter BradshawSep 30, 2022
Like many fan favourite follow-ups, Hocus Pocus 2 is stuck, trapped somewhere between different times, audiences and tones, trying to do so much yet, in this instance, achieving so very little. Read full review
40
ScreenCrushMatt SingerSep 29, 2022
Hocus Pocus 2 doesn’t necessarily demand Kubrickian levels of visual splendor, but it’s still a film, and film is a visual medium. If there was anything even remotely interesting to look at on the screen, that would be nice. Read full review
40
The IndependentAmanda WhitingSep 29, 2022
Hocus Pocus 2 doesn’t hit the extremes that made the original a critical flop, but such an enduring rewatch. It’s less menacing. It lacks the exquisite cuteness exuded by a middle-grade Thora Birch. There are zero talking cats. But that’s unlikely to matter much to most audiences. Read full review
38
New York PostJohnny OleksinskiSep 29, 2022
Hocus Pocus 2 is also awful to the core, but charmless and too low stakes to keep our interest. Read full review
38
USA TodayBrian TruittSep 29, 2022
The follow-up fails in every way, as a retread of the beloved ‘90s vehicle and as a youth-centered setup for future installments. Read full review
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