“Mariah Carey’s Magical Christmas Special” landed as an Apple TV+ exclusive ahead of Christmas on December 4. The show was reportedly so successful that Apple’s video team is now seriously considering creating a sequel in 2021 with a much larger budget.
British tabloid newspaper The Sun reports that Carey’s Christmas special cost Apple nearly five million bucks to film, but it was worth every cent: It apparently climbed to #1 in more than a hundred countries, prompting Apple to approve a follow-up with a much larger budget.
The article quotes unnamed industry sources as saying:
Bosses at Apple now want to secure her for another special show next year. Mariah’s team are, of course, completely behind it, and everyone is going to do what they can to make it happen. They spent over four million pounds on this year’s show but next year this could go even higher. Apple know the worth of Mariah and are willing to splash the cash to make a follow-up even bigger and better.
The follow-up is likely to hit Apple TV+ in the winter of 2021.
The source continued:
No one could have predicted its success and it went to No. 1 in their charts in over 100 countries. They spent over £4 million on this year’s show but next year this could go even higher. Apple know the worth of Mariah and are willing to splash the cash to make a follow-up even bigger and better.
Featuring performances by Ariana Grande, Snoop Dogg, Jennifer Hudson and other artists, “Mariah Carey’s Magical Christmas Special” was paid for and produced by Apple as an exclusive for its Apple TV+ streaming service.
Mariah Carey has been called “The Queen of Christmas” ever since her iconic uptempo holiday hit “All I Want For Christmas Is You” was met with universal critical acclaim. With an estimated sales of over sixteen million copies to date, “All I Want For Christmas Is You” is the best-selling Christmas single by a female artist, one that reportedly earned $60 million in royalties.