AppleTV+ Movie Filmed In Melrose Starts Streaming Friday

MELROSE, MA — Melrose community members can catch their city on the streaming screen beginning this week as a film staring Ryan Reynolds and Will Ferrell is set to begin streaming on AppleTV+.

“Spirited” debuted in select theaters beginning on Nov. 11. It was due to launch on AppleTV+ on Friday of this week.

The musical holiday film is an adaptation of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol,” casting Ferrell as the Ghost of Christmas Present.

Crews came to Melrose last fall, drawing a crowd for scenes at a home on Bellevue Ave., as shown in pictures by the Saugus Advertiser.

The Boston Globe reported recently that the Melrose site stood in on screen as the home of a “Spirited” character played by Octavia Spencer.

Beyond Melrose, production for “Spirited” saw crews travel between a long list of other destinations in Massachusetts, including sites in Framingham, Braintree, Worcester, Devens, Boston, Everett, Lynnfield and Weymouth, as reported by the Globe.

The movie was hardly the first to film in Melrose. “The Town” was among prominent productions to roll through the city back in 2009, bringing with it crews linked to the Ben Affleck crime thriller.

“Julia,” a HBO series telling the story of Julia Child, has recently filmed in multiple locations throughout north-of-Boston communities.

In nearby Malden, the city has recently bustled with a trio of Hollywood productions in recent weeks.

Massachusetts has a tax credit aimed at attracting film projects to town. The credit dates back to 2006. State lawmakers recently voted to extend it, offering 25% production and payroll credits to qualified projects. Certain productions can also take a sales tax exemption.

The tax credit has its supporters who have argued it creates local jobs by sustaining Massachusetts as a filming destination.

Malden city officials this month touted other benefits for local businesses, which can receive mitigation payments from productions that temporarily impact their properties or operations.

Tax credit opponents have raised concerns, though, arguing the financial ends don’t justify the means.

A commission organized under the state Department of Revenue in 2021 said the tax credit had led to a situation where each new film job created cost an average of $100,000 in lost state revenue.

Those interested in seeing “Spirited” on AppleTV+ can sign up for an account if they don’t already have one here. The streaming service has a seven-day free trial. Subscriptions then cost $6.99-per month.

Moviegoers can also catch the film on the big screen in the coming days with showings scheduled at a handful of Massachusetts theaters, including the Showcase Cinema de Lux in Woburn.