Survey: Superheroes Dethrone Princesses As Top Halloween Costume

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- It's a bird, it's a plane, it's Superman. No, not really, it's just someone dressed up as Superman.

Halloween is upon us, and that means it's time to start planning your costume.

So, what will you be this year? Well, if you want to join the crowd, you better pick your favorite superhero.

According to a new survey by the National Retail Federation, superhero costumes have knocked princess costumes from 11 years of sitting atop the Halloween throne.

For kids, the survey found more than three million will dress up as their favorite action star or superhero, 2.9 million will dress as a princess, and 2.5 million will be some type of animal.

Here is the top 10 children costumes:

1. Action/Superhero
2. Princess
3. Animal (Cat, Dog, Lion, Monkey, etc.)
4. Batman Character
5. Star Wars Character
6. Tie: Witch AND DC Superhero (excl. Batman)
7. Frozen Character (Anna, Elsa, Olaf)
8. Marvel Superhero (excl. Spiderman)
9. Zombie
10. Spiderman

The survey also finds that young adults like superheroes, too. More than nine percent plan to dress as a Batman character, while 6.1 percent are opting for a witch costume.

Here's the top 10 costumes for adults between 18-34 years of age:

1. Batman Character (Batman, Harley Quinn, The Joker, etc.)
2. Witch
3. Animal (Cat, Dog, Bunny, etc.)
4. Tie: Marvel Superhero (Deadpool, Spiderman, etc.) AND DC Superhero (Wonder Woman, Superman, excl. Batman)
5. Vampire
6. Video Game Character
7. Slasher Movie Villain (Freddy, Jason, Michael Myers, etc.)
8. Pirate
9. Star Wars Character
10. Zombie

As for adults over 35, the top three costume choices are a witch, a pirate, or influenced by the election year, a political figure.

Here's the top 10 for older adults:

1. Witch
2. Pirate
3. Political (Trump, Clinton, etc.)
4. Vampire
5. Batman Character (Batman, Catwoman, etc.)
6. Animal (Cat, Dog, Bunny, etc.)
7. Tie: DC Superhero (Superman, Wonder Woman, excl. Batman) and Star Wars Character
8. Tie: Ghost and Zombie
9. Scary Costume/Mask
10. Marvel Superhero (Iron Man, Hulk, Spiderman, etc.)

Finally, the list wouldn't be complete without pets. The favorite pet costumes this year are a pumpkin, a hot dog and a bumble bee.

Here's the complete top 10:

1. Pumpkin
2. Hot Dog
3. Bumble Bee
4. Tie: Lion and Star Wars Character
5. Devil
6. Batman Character
7. Witch
8. Superman
9. Action/Superhero
10. Cat

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Americans are expected to spend more than $3 billion on their costumes this year.

To read the full survey and see its findings, visit this link.

In:
• Halloween