HOLLYWOOD—Believe it or not, Hollywood is gearing up for Halloween. It’s a fun day to get dressed up and have a great time. Halloween comes only second to Christmas in spending. Everyone will spend money from buying custom costumes to candy to pumpkin pies. Americans go all out on October 31, and spend a lot of money doing so.
An estimated 160 million people in the U.S. celebrated the holiday last year, with each spending an estimated $6.9 billion, according to the National Retail Federation. This year it will be probably be less, since it keeps declining with every year.
In 2012, Americans spent $8 billion. Costumes will fly off the shelves, even though each person will spend over $85 each for their Halloween items, including another $2 billion on candy alone. Pet owners love to include their dogs and cats, they will spend an estimated $330 million on pet costumes. No one wants to be an outfit repeater.
This year’s most popular Halloween costumes are based on characters from movies released this year. It’s no wonder the trick-or-treaters showing up at your door this Halloween will be dressed in costumes from blockbuster movies. This is what to expect this year; your kids have been watching the shenanigans for years, yes admit it, you have been watching Spongebob as well. Spongebob costumes are still in and will fly off the shelves.
Cinderella has once again been re-imagined by Disney, as only the great minds of Disney can do. The story of Cinderella which began as a very old French folk tale was originally adapted in 1812 by the Brothers Grimm in their famous book, “Grimms’ Fairy Tales.” Back in 1950, Disney made its original animated feature film titled “Cinderella.”
The musical fantasy adventure became Disney’s biggest commercial success since the film release of “Snow White.” Little girls love Cinderella and the story of Cinderella appeals to audiences of all ages, proving to us all that kindness, courage, and love still can prevail. More than 3 million children will dress up like princesses this year, making that the top costume for the 11th year in a row, according to published reports. Two years after Disney’s “Frozen” hit theaters, 2 million children will still be doing their best Elsa and Olaf impressions for Halloween.
There will be plenty of Batman and Minions ringing your doorbells, joining the popular Cinderella and zombies. Minions are not only popular for children, but also very popular for adults and pets. It all began with the films “Despicable Me” and “Despicable Me 2.” After the release of these two films, minions started popping up everywhere. Minion toys, minion gadgets, minion costumes, you name it, minions are everywhere.
We all know about the yellow, babbling, banana-loving creatures. Hollywood and pop culture have always had a tremendous impact on how adults and children decide to dress for Halloween. For adults (women), witches have maintained the most popular costume along with the Playboy bunny. Other popular costumes for adult men include Batman characters. With the presidential election consumers have been thinking about politics, with over 700,000 adults planning to dress up as a political character.
As the trick-or-treating and weekend parties get rolling, expect to see a slew of superheroes, the return of a band of pizza-craving turtles-thanks to the revamped “heroes in a halfshell.”
To get you in the Halloween mood, the must-see “Rise of the Jack O’ Lanterns” will light up your night. You will see over 5,000 hand-carved illuminated jack o’lanterns on display in Los Angeles and San Diego. They are created by professional artists and sculptors arranged in creative ways along a 1/3 mile scenic walking trail all set to an original music score. You’ll see images of your favorite TV and movie stars handcarved into giant 100 pound pumpkins. Just visit the rise of the Jack O’ Lantern website for tickets at www.therise.org.
Rose’s Scoop: During the month of October you will experience everything from haunted houses to costume parties at America’s biggest bash in Salem, Massachusetts. At the must-stop Lizzie Borden’s Bed and Breakfast museum, you can actually sleep in Lizzie’s room.
