An Olympic breakdancer, a Chipotle burrito and a pop star walk into a bar.
This may sound like the start to a bad joke, but it could be a scene unfolding across the US on October 31, according to online search data.
Google’s annual “Frightgeist” list has unveiled 25 costume ideas the tech giant says are “trending” in the build-up to Halloween. The list, based on comparisons of year-on-year search data from September, is also something of a who’s who of pop culture in 2024.
Top of this year’s list is Bob, a shrunken-headed ghost from the recent “Beetlejuice” sequel. Viral breakdancer Raygun took second place, with Google noting a spike in searches for “green and yellow track suit” and “green track pants,” as worn during the Australian’s controversial Olympics performance. Third place went to CatNap, the cat-like monster from the popular video game series “Poppy Playtime.”
Also in the top 10 were Deadpool’s female counterpart Lady Deadpool and singer Sabrina Carpenter, whose cut-out heart corset has spiked in searches this year, according to Google Trends.
Elsewhere, a total of five characters from Pixar’s “Inside Out” movies — the anthropomorphized emotions Envy, Anger, Disgust, Anxiety and Joy — featured in the top 25. So, too, did Chipotle burritos (11th), Sonic’s nemesis Shadow the Hedgehog (20th), rapper Soulja Boy (24th) and three other characters from “Beetlejuice.” (Both “Beetlejuice” movies were released by Warner Bros., which is owned by CNN’s parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery.)
Google also looked at trending kids’ costumes (topped by Red from Disney’s “Descendants”), pet costumes (“Dogpool”) and costume pairs (Deadpool and Wolverine).
This year’s “Frightgeist” also featured a US-wide costume map, showing local preferences that were not always reflected in the national data. Dolly Parton, for instance, was the top trending costume in Tampa, Florida and Rapid City, South Dakota, while “Anchorman” character Ron Burgundy topped the list in Marquette, Michigan.
Bluey, from the Australian cartoon of the same name, was trending in Duluth, Minnesota and Tucson, Arizona.
“Frightgeist” also identified the year’s top trending party theme as “Beetlejuice,” while the “spooky foods” category was topped by “mummy hot dogs.”
Here are this year’s top 25 trending costumes, according to Google Trends:
- Shrunken Head Bob, from “Beetlejuice”
- Raygun
- Catnap
- Delores, from “Beetlejuice”
- Pomni, from “The Amazing Digital Circus”
- Envy, from “Inside Out”
- Red, from “Descendants”
- Dr. Doom
- Sabrina Carpenter
- Lady Deadpool
- Chipotle burrito
- Anger, from “Inside Out”
- Disgust, from “Inside Out”
- Wolverine
- Anxiety, from “Inside Out”
- Delia Deetz, from “Beetlejuice”
- Gambit
- Dune
- Minion
- Shadow the Hedgehog
- Joy, from “Inside Out”
- Peely, from “Fortnite”
- Lydia Deetz, from “Beetlejuice”
- Soulja Boy
- Godzilla
