Which Streaming-Inspired Halloween Costume Will Dominate Your State?

A reveal of your internet searches can feel like being unmasked by the members of Mystery Inc. All Home Connections has gone all meddling-kids on America(Opens in a new window) by analyzing Google Trends to find out what costumes people are researching ahead of Halloween. 

Streaming services have a spooky amount of sway when it comes to costumes. Of course, dressing as a witch at Halloween is a perennial favorite. But this year, we probably owe more than a little something to Hocus Pocus 2(Opens in a new window), which hit Disney+ late last month and claims the top searched-for costume in 10 states. 

HBO Max premiered Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis(Opens in a new window) a little over a month after its theatrical release, and you can expect to see its influence in costume contests across two of the states most associated with the King: Mississippi and Nevada, where it led searches. 

Lightyear, which is, in the words of its star, Chris Evans(Opens in a new window), “the origin story of the human Buzz Lightyear that the toy is based on,” can be found on Disney+(Opens in a new window). And you can expect to see lots of little Buzzes in California, Colorado, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, and Tennessee. 

Not to be outdone in flight or origin stories is Tom Cruise, who did all his own stunts in Top Gun: Maverick and is serving as costume inspiration in Rhode Island. 

North Dakota, which is littered with dinosaur bones(Opens in a new window), is following in the footsteps of Jurassic World Dominion (available on Peacock(Opens in a new window)) with an online dig for dinosaur costumes. 

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Despite theaters being populated by teens dressed in suits to see Minions: The Rise of Gru, thanks to the #GentleMinions trend on TikTok(Opens in a new window), only one state is going to be filled with people dressed as a Minion: Hawaii. But Peacock subscribers can watch the movie(Opens in a new window) on Halloween or any other night. 

House of the Dragon(Opens in a new window) fans can look out for that titular dragon in Idaho, where it flew away with searches. Those still longing for Game of Thrones(Opens in a new window) might find their Jon Snow on the streets of Alabama and Oklahoma. 

It’s a strange thing that, although Indiana is supposed to be the home state of Stranger Things, and it’s actually filmed in Georgia, Maine is going to be where you’ll see the most Eleven costumes. 

Not to be out-spooked, another young girl—one Wednesday Addams—is popular in Montana. Once her new show debuts on Netflix next month(Opens in a new window), she’ll undoubtedly be even more of a teen idol. 

You can always find some zombies on Halloween, whether they’re on Disney+(Opens in a new window) or Epix(Opens in a new window), or just in West Virginia. And watch out for vampires, well everywhere, but particularly in D.C., Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, and South Carolina. That could be thanks to Morbius(Opens in a new window) on Netflix, even though that film got panned. If you want to feast on a much better tale on the streaming service, try Vampires vs. the Bronx(Opens in a new window).

You never see where a ninja comes from, so we don’t know what spurred the search for ninja costumes in Wyoming. It could be Lego’s popular Ninjago shows and series, which you can find on lots of platforms, including Netflix(Opens in a new window) and Tubi(Opens in a new window). 

When you’re out of costume inspiration, cinematic or otherwise, you can’t go wrong with some cat ears—and people in 12 states agree. 

We almost forgot to talk about Bruno! You’re likely to see him at your door in Arizona, Connecticut, Florida, Kansas, and New Mexico, and on your TV on Disney+(Opens in a new window).