Bette Midler & Sarah Jessica Parker Reunited Before Hocus Pocus 2

---

Screenrant
Bette Midler & Sarah Jessica Parker Reunited 26 Years Before Hocus Pocus 2 In This $181M Comedy & It Perfectly Reversed Their Horror Roles
By Arielle Port
Oct 20, 2024

---

---

Bette Midler and Sarah Jessica Parker shared the screen as two Sanderson sisters in the Halloween cult classic Hocus Pocus. They reunited in The First Wives Club, but their characters’ relationships flipped. In Hocus Pocus, Midler’s Winnifred “Winnie” Sanderson is the unquestioned leader of the Sanderson sisters’ witch coven, often belittling Parker’s flighty Sarah. This created an iconic dynamic between the pair, but it’s not the only example of their on-screen potential.

While Midler and Parker lead the cast of Hocus Pocus playing magical sisters, three years later, they were cast in roles that would further play on their age gap. In The First Wives Club, Parker portrays the younger woman Midler’s husband leaves her for. The women are rivals, and Parker’s Shelley Stewart is suddenly in a position of power over Midler’s Brenda Cushman. The result is hilarious – especially considering Midler and Parker’s Hocus Pocus history.

Bette Midler & Sarah Jessica Parker’s First Wives Club Roles Hilariously Reversed Their Hocus Pocus Dynamic

---

---

Winnie and Sarah are sisters, but Winnie rules over Hocus Pocus’ Sanderson clan with a sharp tongue and an iron fist, and her sisters are there merely to do her bidding. Winnifred’s best quotes are as biting as they are funny. Winnie especially targets Sarah, condescendingly saying, “Does thou comprehend?” when asking the simplest questions. Winnie even strangles Sarah or hits her in the stomach when she’s being a willowy nuisance, albeit in a comic way appropriate for a kid’s movie. Winnie screams to the sky: “Why was I cursed with such incompetent sisters?” to which Sarah blithely responds, “Just lucky, I guess!”

---

The balance of power between Midler’s and Parker’s characters is completely reversed in The First Wives Club. Midler’s Brenda is middle-aged and heartbroken when she runs into her estranged husband shopping with his new girlfriend, Parker’s Shelley. Shelley snidely suggests Brenda should try on some outfits in a much bigger size, and Brenda is left trying to hold back tears. It’s interesting to see Midler and Parker in roles that invert who holds the higher status in the relationship from what they had in Hocus Pocus, proving the versatility of both performers.

The First Wives Club Still Beats The Hocus Pocus Movies For Bette Midler & Sarah Jessica Parker’s Most Successful Movie

While the movie became a cult classic over time, Hocus Pocus was an infamous bomb for Disney, grossing only one and half times its modest budget. Hocus Pocus 2, its legacy sequel, was a Disney+ original, so there is no box office data available, but it was considered a commercial success, becoming the most-watched movie on the platform during its opening weekend. However, The First Wives Club was a runaway commercial and critical success, having approximately the same budget but grossing $181m compared to Hocus Pocus’ $45m.

---

Box Office And Critic Score Comparisons Between Hocus Pocus 1 & 2 And
The First Wives Club

---

	Hocus Pocus	Hocus Pocus 2	The First Wives Club
Box Office	$45m	n/a	$181m
Budget	$28m	$40m	$30m
Rotten Tomato Rating	40%	65%	50%
Metacritic Score	43/100	56/100	58/100

The First Wives Club was a surprise hit, driven by several factors contributing to its success. The movie was a comedy starring three major female movie stars: Diane Keaton, Goldie Hawn, and Bette Midler. Each of them would attract a slightly different demographic. The themes of female empowerment and rage in The First Wives Club resonated with adult audiences of the 1990s.

Conversely, Hocus Pocus suffered from an unclear marketing campaign. The unique blend of family-friendly humor, witchcraft, and surprisingly dark moments in Hocus Pocus led to confusion about Hocus Pocus’ target audience. Though a Halloween movie, Hocus Pocus confusingly premiered in July. This put Hocus Pocus against significant summer blockbusters, including Jurassic Park and Sleepless in Seattle. Even if it was disappointing in theaters, Hocus Pocus gained popularity over time through home video, TV reruns, and annual Halloween broadcasts.