One obvious sign that Halloween is fast approaching: More horror flicks being streamed. And that’s clearly the case right now, with a handful of scary movies, including Hulu’s “Hellraiser,” grabbing fans’ attention, according to Whip Media’s latest movie ranker — which reflects data from TV time, a TV and movie app that tracks viewer interest from 22 million global registered users.
For the second straight week, Disney+ had the two most streamed movies in the U.S. “Hocus Pocus 2,” which topped the Whip Media chart last week (and helped give a boost to the 1993 original film, too) dropped to second place last weekend. Taking its No. 1 spot was “Werewolf by Night,” the new fantasy-horror special from Marvel that was released on Oct. 7.
“Werewolf by Night” — which stars Gael Garcia Bernal as the title character and also features Laura Donnelly and Harriet Sansom Harris — has been praised by both fans and critics for its black and white cinematography. Something else that stood out to fans and critics: There’s a lot of blood in “Werewolf by Night” — which comes as a mild shock for a Disney+ special. Then again, it is Halloween and it does have “Werewolf” in the title, so it shouldn’t be too surprising.
As mentioned earlier, “Hocus Pocus 2” continued its momentum from its huge debut and was the second-most streamed movie in its second week on Disney+. And fans are still revisiting “Hocus Pocus” ‘93, too, with the movie coming in at No. 7 on Whip Media’s ranker this past weekend. It’s been a good October for Bette Midler and Sarah Jessica Parker, at least so far.
Hulu grabbed the bronze medal with “Hellraiser,” which came out on Oct. 7 and rebooted the popular “Pinhead” character. This was the 11th film in the franchise dating back to 1987, and the first “Hellraiser” flick. And its strong debut for Hulu isn’t a surprise, considering the new “Hellraiser” was one of the most anticipated movies of the month, alongside “Black Adam” and “Halloween Ends.”
Netflix makes its first appearance on the Whip Media ranker at No. 4, with “Luckiest Girl Alive.” The new mystery-thriller stars Mila Kunis as a woman who must grapple with a major secret after she’s interviewed for a true-crime documentary. The movie is based on the popular novel of the same name by Jessica Knoll. Netflix also grabbed the fifth ranking for the week with another horror-drama, this one being “Mr. Harrigan’s Phone.” The movie was written and directed by John Lee Hancock and based on a novella by Stephen King, so it’s clearly a fit for this week’s ranker.
The first film to break the horror-fantasy-thriller hold on the ranker this week was “Thor: Love and Thunder,” which came in at No. 6 and has been a steady performer for Disney+ since hitting the service last month.
Netflix accounted for the final trio of most streamed films of the weekend, starting with the dark comedy “Do Revenge” at No. 8. Like “Thor: Love and Thunder” has been for Disney+, “Do Revenge” — which was inspired by Alfred Hitchcock’s 1951 classic “Strangers on a Train” — has been a strong performer for Netflix in the last month (and even topped the ranker in its debut weekend). Meanwhile, “Last Seen Alive,” Gerard Butler’s new thriller, was ranked ninth for the week. Meanwhile, “Blonde,” which takes a fictionalized look at the life of Marilyn Monroe, landed at No. 10. According to TheWrap’s review of the flick, it “holds stardom to the light and finds nothing but an unending nightmare.” And you can check back here next week to see if Disney’s recent run atop the Whip Media movie ranker kept rolling on.
Sean Burch is a marketing insights analyst at Whip Media, a WrapPRO partner. Click here for more from Whip Media.
