Johnny Depp’s studio comeback vehicle Ebenezer opened to $6.7 million on Friday, including Thursday previews, and is projected to earn around $20 million for its opening weekend in North American theaters.
Paramount Pictures Releases Ti West Adaptation
This weekend, Paramount Pictures rolled out filmmaker Ti West’s scary spin on Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol across 3,535 cinemas in North America. The PG-13 film follows the miserly businessman Ebenezer Scrooge, played by Depp, as he receives supernatural visits on Christmas Eve from his late business partner and subsequent apparitions.
Please check out my @nbcchicago page for written and video reviews of "Ebenezer," "How to Rob a Bank" and "The Body," plus my podcast conversation with Peter Farrelly of "There's Something About Mary," "Green Book" and "I Play Rocky."https://t.co/REAEu7w7SU
The total production budget for the movie was $38 million, per Variety reporting cited by Business Insider. To keep the project financially viable, Depp accepted a reduced salary of roughly $5 million in exchange for a larger share of box office proceeds, contrasting with the $25 million up front he once commanded for 2017’s Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales.
Nathaniel Halpern and Ti West Shape the Film's Horror Vision
The film’s screenplay was penned by Nathaniel Halpern, who frames the classic moralistic ghost story with jump scares, a zombie horde of ghouls, and a cemetery situated right outside the curmudgeon’s bedroom window. Director Ti West attempts to give the source material his signature campy-horror spin, infusing the production with rattling chains and moaning spectres reminiscent of mid-20th century Hammer Studios cinema.
Jerry Bruckheimer reveals conversations have been had with Johnny Depp about returning as Captain Jack Sparrow in ‘Pirates of the Caribbean 6’ | #D23 pic.twitter.com/52iJn7apD1
Transforming completely into Ebenezer Scrooge, Johnny Depp relishes the cruel and miserly habits that let him terrify others until ghostly visitations arrive from his dead partner Marley—portrayed by Sir Ian McKellen—as well as Christmas Past (Andrea Riseborough), Christmas Present (Tramell Tillman), and the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come (Robert Strange).
The ensemble cast also features Rupert Grint as the overworked and underpaid underling Bob Cratchit, alongside Daisy Ridley, Sam Claflin, and Andrea Riseborough rounding out the roster.
Context of Depp’s Career Return
The release marks Depp’s first major Hollywood feature and studio project in eight years, following his appearance in 2018’s Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. After failing to win his libel lawsuit against The Sun—a British tabloid that questioned his casting by labeling him a “wife-bater”—Depp was dropped from the Harry Potter spinoff franchise by Warner Bros. in 2020.
He subsequently took a hiatus from high-profile work following abuse allegations from his ex-wife Amber Heard that Depp has denied, in addition to negative headlines surrounding his and Heard’s highly publicized 2022 defamation trial in the United States.
‘EBENEZER’, starring Johnny Depp, is now at 50% on Rotten Tomatoes. • One of the lowest rated ‘A Christmas Carol’ film adaptations of all time. pic.twitter.com/KrrAplmQYu
Even though major Hollywood studios steered clear while his legal disputes played out, Depp still took on roles in lower-profile indie films such as the 2020 drama Minamata and the 2023 period piece Jeanne du Barry, in addition to directing the 2024 biopic Modì, Three Days on the Wing of Madness.
Paramount Pictures ultimately lit the comeback wick at San Diego Comic-Con with a surprise appearance by the three-time Oscar nominee, utilizing marketing materials and taglines such as “The Master of Misfits returns” while drawing connections to his past iconic roles.
‘EBENEZER’ is rotten on Rotten Tomatoes. "By the end, the only Christmas miracle one is grateful for is that the whole interminable affair is finally over." (https://t.co/cIm4aotMbR) pic.twitter.com/ipjVGjlJzG
Audiences and Critics React to the Comeback
Audiences awarded the film an A- CinemaScore grade alongside a 65 percent definite recommend on PostTrak. Demographics for the opening showed broad appeal, with 48 percent Caucasian, 28 percent Latino and Hispanic, 12 percent Black, and 6 percent Asian American attendees.
Older moviegoers turned out strongly, with 37 percent of ticket buyers over the age of 45, while the 18-to-34 demographic accounted for 40 percent of the audience. Of the opening Thursday night crowd, 62 percent of attendees were over age 30, and 50 percent of surveyed guests cited Depp specifically as their reason for seeing the movie.
Critical reception has been more divided, holding a 53 percent approval rating from Rotten Tomatoes reviewers, while user-generated audience scores on the platform reached an 89 percent “Popcornmeter” rating.
Global Box Office Projections
In addition to its domestic earnings, trade publications estimate that Ebenezer will collect another $20 million overseas, pushing the global box office bow to roughly $38 million to $40 million and covering its modest production costs during its opening frame.
Among other new releases arriving over the same weekend, Sony distributed the action thriller Ghost Soldier, starring Jim Caviezel as a former American Special Forces soldier, which grossed $1.5 million from 2,558 locations on Friday toward an expected $4 million three-day frame.
Meanwhile, Amazon MGM Studios released the 87North action comedy How to Rob a Bank, directed by David Leitch and starring Nicholas Hoult and Pete Davidson, which pulled in previews that began at 4 PM.
Ebenezer is bad and Johnny Depp is terrible in it. a transparent bid for redemption that becomes just another thing he should feel sorry for. my review: https://t.co/vWYNpWVOTF pic.twitter.com/qU4MOd4Aj2
Earlier coverage: Johnny Depp's Ebenezer Eyes No. 1 at Domestic Box Office
