Manufacturers and retailers predict that this year's top costumes will be inspired by the same Hollywood characters that dominated the big and small screens.
The National Retail Federation picks princesses and pirates, often of the Disney variety, and Spider-Man to be the top children's costumes of the year, while Yahoo! Shopping adds ''Star Wars,'' ''Hannah Montana'' and ''High School Musical'' as favorites with trick-or-treaters.
''Sometimes I feel I'm either on Wall Street or a movie mogul, I pay such attention to the box office,'' says Mary Ellen Turner, Party City's divisional vice president of seasonal departments - aka the company's ''queen of Halloween.''
At Party City, ''Transformers'' and ''Hannah Montana'' costumes are on top, while Amazon.com's Halloween store suggests ''Harry Potter,'' ''Shrek'' and ''High School Musical.''
And it's not just movies - the big names in toys are another source of costume inspiration. Barbie-themed costumes are consistent performers and Transformers were in toy chests before they stormed the movie industry, notes Mark Randall, vice president of toys and baby for Amazon.com. Randall will be looking at the fall '08 toys next week for inspiration for next year's costumes.
''A licensed character is a powerful engine, whether it starts with a DVD, a Saturday morning cartoon, a network or a book like Narnia or Harry Potter,'' agrees Turner. ''They're such powerful influencers for children and, quite frankly, adults, too.''
Not just kid's play
The adult-costume business gets bigger each year at Party City, according to Turner, and even adults aren't immune from the lure of Hollywood.
Costumes mimicking ''Reno 911'' rank as one of the top sellers with men this year, and longtime favorites ''Freddy'' and ''Jason'' first showed up in horror films ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' and ''Friday the 13th.''
The gory movie ''300'' wasn't really on the radar as a hot movie this past spring, Turner recalls, but she saw the marketing barometer begin to move and Party City called its costume supplier long before it became a sleeper hit grossing more than $200 million. The same thing happened last year for ''V for Vendetta,'' she recalls.
Does Brangelina count as a character costume? A survey by Shop.com finds that Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are the most anticipated celebrity couple costume, followed by Bill and Hillary Clinton, David and Victoria Beckham, and Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes.
''Our generation of parenting is about including the kids and getting included in their lives,'' Turner says. ''The Halloween holiday accentuates family fun.''
Family sized
The pirate theme - also a huge success last year - appeals to the family that wants to dress as a unit, says Amy Hauk, senior vice president and general merchandise manager of Disney Store, which happens to have versions of Jack Sparrow and Elizabeth Swann for all ages. Disney Store also has a family-size group of costumes linked to ''The Nightmare Before Christmas,'' including a dog costume for the Zero character.
But Disney's target is 3- to 6-year-olds because they have direct association with a character. Their favorites include Buzz Lightyear from ''Toy Story'' and Cinderella. The older kids who are more into ''Hannah Montana'' and ''High School Musical'' aren't so much dressing up as a character as expressing their affinity for the whole property.
''With 'High School Musical,' the most popular costume is more like a full-cast concert T-shirt,'' observes Hauk, while the Hannah wannabes are more in the market for a costume that is hip and fashionable - something that Miley Cyrus might wear - but not necessarily an exact replica of something they've seen on the show.
