Vinessa Shaw Says Cast of “Hocus Pocus ”Was ‘Ridiculed’ Over the Film, Shares the Snub That Left Her and Thora Birch in Tears

Virginia ChamleeWed, October 14, 2026 at 1:30 PM UTC

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Vinessa ShawCredit: Araya Doheny/Getty; RGR Collection / Alamy Stock PhotoThe 1993 film became a cult classic, but it did not feel like a success to the cast at the time -

Vinessa Shaw says the 1993 Halloween film Hocus Pocus struggled against Jurassic Park during its summer release

Shaw and Thora Birch cried after the cast’s small screening because the movie did not receive a premiere

Repeated Disney Channel airings and rentals helped turn Hocus Pocus into a cult favorite years later

Vinessa Shaw is reflecting on the initial reaction to Hocus Pocus— which she said “bombed” in theaters but grew in popularity over time.

The film, directed by Kenny Ortega, starred starred Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy as a familial witch trio and also featured Shaw as Allison alongside Thora Birch (Dani Dennison), (Allison), Omri Katz (Max Dennison), Larry Bagby (Ice) and Tobias Jelinek (Jay).

It released in July 1993, initially grossing roughly $40 million against a production budget of $28 million, per The Wrap.

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Omri Katz, Thora Birch & Vinessa Shaw Film Hocus PocusCredit: DISNEY/Cinematic/Alamy Stock Photo

Speaking on a new episode of Taboo’s Comics & Kicks, 50-year-old Shaw said, “Well, it bombed, you know, when it first came out.”

“So, it was kind of like we were ridiculed for it,” she said, acknowledging that it later became a cult classic: “But that was like 20 years later... [or] like 12 years later.”

She continued: “And that’s because everybody was watching the Disney Channel, renting it a million times ‘til it broke. Um, stealing it.”

When the film came out, though, she noted, it did not have much impact — particularly since it came out at the same time of a box office juggernaut.

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“And it’s funny cause younger millennials have no idea. They’re like, ‘It bombed,’” she said. “And yeah, it was up against Jurassic Park. So there’s just no way.”

She added: “And it came out in July. And we don’t know why. I think they were trying to ride the [summer] blockbuster tip, but it didn’t really work because it was a Halloween movie. It should have been [out] on Halloween.”

The opening weekend, she noted, “was pretty sad, because we didn’t even have a premiere.”

Instead, the cast has a small screening, with Shaw saying that she and costar Birch later told one another they “cried their eyes out” that weekend.

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Following the film gaining a cult following decades after it was released, it got a sequel in 2022.

Disney announced that Hocus Pocus 3 was in the works in June 2023.

While the details and storyline for Hocus Pocus 3 have been kept quiet, Midler teased in October 2025 that she had received a script and thought it was “brilliant.” Prior to learning the plot, Parker said that she and her fellow witch sisters were “having some conversations“ about development.

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”