Shrunken Head Bob from Beetlejuice Beetlejuice claimed the top spot on this year’s rankings.
Jay L. Clendenin / Getty Images
With Halloween fast approaching, trick-or-treaters and costumed partygoers are getting ready to show off their 2024 looks. For those in need of some last-minute inspiration, Google Trends has released its annual “Frightgeist” list of the year’s top 25 trending costumes.
The rankings are based on a comparison of Google search interest in the United States in September 2023 and September 2024. In other words, the list reflects costumes that “experienced the biggest increase in search interest year over year,” rather than “the top-searched costume ideas overall,” writes Nexstar Media Group’s Michael Bartiromo.
According to Google, the top trending costume this year is Shrunken Head Bob from Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, a recently released sequel to the 1988 cult classic. While the tiny-headed man in a big yellow suit doesn’t play the largest role in the new movie, the character has already become an iconic part of the franchise.
A mother and daughter dress up as Joy and Sadness from Pixar’s Inside Out franchise. Leonard Ortiz / Digital First Media / Orange County Register via Getty Images
Rounding out the top three are Raygun, the Australian breakdancer who received zero points for her performance at the Paris Summer Olympics, and CatNap, a villainous purple cat from the “Poppy Playtime” video game, which drops players into an abandoned toy factory populated by sentient toys.
Last year, the number one costume was Barbie—a trend that makes sense given Barbie’s status as one of the two biggest movies of summer 2023. Google’s latest list shows that pop culture-inspired looks are gaining traction once again, a few exceptions (like the 11th-spot Chipotle burrito) aside.
A number of characters from Inside Out 2 make appearances in the rankings, among them the personified emotions of Envy, Anger, Disgust, Anxiety and Joy. Superhero favorites like Lady Deadpool, Wolverine and Gambit from the Deadpool & Wolverine spinoff also made the cut. And Bob wasn’t the only Beetlejuice Beetlejuice character to garner search interest: Delores, the titular antagonist’s ex-wife, and Delia and Lydia Deetz, a stepmother and stepdaughter duo from both the original film and the sequel, appear on the list, too.
“This year, we’re seeing a fascinating comeback of timeless Halloween looks, fueled by a mix of nostalgia, viral trends and recent pop culture influences,” writes Google Trends expert Hibaq Ali in a blog post. “And it’s clear that DIY is king.”
Sabrina Carpenter established herself as one of the biggest names in pop music this summer. Now, she’s the ninth trending Halloween costume idea on Google. Kevin Mazur / Getty Images for MTV
Some costumes on the list are inspired by actual people. Pop singer Sabrina Carpenter, whose hits “Please Please Please” and “Espresso” dominated the summer charts, ranked number nine, while rapper Soulja Boy took the 24th spot.
In addition to the overall trending costumes, the Google site features an interactive map showing which costumes are popular in different areas of the country. Luna Lovegood of the Harry Potter franchise tops the list in Tulsa, Oklahoma, for example, while Bigfoot is number one in Tallahassee, Florida. The site also tracks trends in various costume categories, including most popular children’s costumes (Red from Disney’s Descendants is number one), duo looks (topped by Wolverine and Deadpool), and dog costumes (with Dogpool, a canine version of Deadpool, ranking highest).
Here is the full list of Google’s top trending costumes of 2024:
- Shrunken Head Bob (from Beetlejuice Beetlejuice)
- Raygun (Australian breakdancer)
- CatNap (from the “Poppy Playtime” video game)
- Delores (from Beetlejuice Beetlejuice)
- Pomni (from “The Amazing Digital Circus” series)
- Envy (from Inside Out 2)
- Red (from Descendants: The Rise of Red)
- Dr. Doom (comic book character)
- Sabrina Carpenter (pop singer)
- Lady Deadpool (from Deadpool & Wolverine)
- Chipotle burrito
- Anger (from the Inside Out franchise)
- Disgust (from the Inside Out franchise)
- Wolverine (from Deadpool & Wolverine)
- Anxiety (from Inside Out 2)
- Delia Deetz (from the Beetlejuice franchise)
- Gambit (from Deadpool & Wolverine)
- Dune (from the Dune franchise)
- Minion (from the Despicable Me franchise)
- Shadow the Hedgehog (from the “Sonic the Hedgehog” video game franchise)
- Joy (from the Inside Out franchise)
- Peely (from the “Fortnite” video game)
- Lydia Deetz (from the Beetlejuice franchise)
- Soulja Boy (rapper)
- Godzilla (from the Godzilla franchise)